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Lisa Kokin
Artist Analysis:
Lisa Kokin was born in Mineola, New York in 1954. She currently resides in California and is still active in the art world. Her most recent exhibition is part of the Robert Mann Gallery, in New York, from November 2021- January 2022. Her work explores art through textures and sewing. As a child, she was majorly influenced by watching her grandmother working in a textiles factory after moving to New York as a Jewish migrant from Romania where they were being persecuted by Nazi Germany. Her parents also had a small upholstery where Kokin would spend hours making collages out of scraps of leatherette and foam rubber. She received her first sewing machine when she was nine and when describing the motivation behind her work, the artist replied with, “I grew up around fabrics and sewing so it was natural to incorporate it into my work.”
She studied art briefly at a liberal arts college on the east coast for one year before moving to the San Francisco Art Institute for a year. After working in Batik for thirteen years, where she raised awareness through her art about issues such as the plight of the Palestinian people, apartheid in South Africa, and the intervention of the United States in Latin America. Lisa Kokin graduated from the California College of the Arts in Oakland two years later with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts two years after that.
When describing the inspiration behind her work, she said, “I sit in my studio and speculate about the nature of the photographed people’s lives. I will of course never know the truth so I feel it is my job to give them new lives and rescue them form the obscurity they would be headed for.” Her art is more content, and material driven rather than technique driven. “I work mainly with found materials such as old books and ephemera, and more recently thread and found textiles. I acquire technique as I need it and this as hoc approach has served me well.” Many consider her to be a conceptual artist interested in mixed media and materiality. For ideas she uses a notebook to map our ideas and titles, however a lot of her work is spontaneous.
Furthermore, her inspiration is drawn from the human form and the environment with which people inhabit. For an article in textileartist.org, the artist said, “Art is the way I attempt to make sense of the world and express what I think about what goes on in that world.” Regarding colour, she uses the hues found in the material as she thinks it more important to subtract from an image rather than add. Other resources she uses include other artists’ websites because they often exemplify ideas and materials that she would use. Interestingly, Lisa Kokin still uses many of the same sewing machines as she did when she was younger including the one gifted to her by her grandfather when she was nine.
I found it difficult to choose a photograph to analyse because a lot of her work does not revolve around photography elements, but they more incorporates textiles. However, this image did strike me because of the way it has been positioned and presented before being photographed. The side ways angling of the table allows more of the faces to be visible and adds depth to the image. Looking at this image, it feels almost as if you were visualising the physical artwork in real life and not through a screen. In terms of lighting, I presume she used day light to avoid glare on the object, which would have happened if she was to use a spotlight or a ring light. The lighting is neither low key nor high key but instead natural. This means that shadows in the image form on their own accord, which further enhances this concept of the image being real life and three dimensional. A grey background has been cleverly used to make the main subject, in this case the table, the centre of attention. Furthermore, the lack of: editing, changes to aperture, or drastic changes to exposure, help to make this photograph realistic and life-like.
The mood of this photograph is arguably dull and mundane, however the abundance of faces used in this are therefore more highlighted. People pictured are of different ages, genders, races, and times. Her work is all about memory and history and often include sewing together images that would not normally be placed together. Initially this image appears normal with people sewn as a table. However as you digest it, it becomes obvious that the differences between the people would have at some point caused a lot of controversy and that the fact that now it appears more acceptable may suggest that this image shows identity and how it should not be a reason to discriminate. Simply, this image is of people sewn together as an object, however the experiences and identity of each person make the photo more striking.
Artist Gallery:
Photoshoot Plan:
Photoshoot plans are important because they show how an artist's work will be interpreted or recreated. In terms of this artist, for the first developments, I would like to recreate her box edit where she stacks cubes, which comprise of images sewn together. For my second developments, I would like to go onto explore my grandma's university images and the symbolism behind objects. An umbrella was a recurring concept in the photos I found. I have drawn a recreation of Lisa Kokin's family tree project where she hung images against a white background. Family heritage, the focus of that artwork, is a concept that I would like to explore. The other drawing is of a lady, and it was made to represent the images that I would like to sew. In terms of drawings, I wanted to dissect and recreate Lisa Kokin's work, so that I was more familiar with it and therefore I will be able to easily incorporate her concepts in my work.
First Developments:
Inspiration:
For my first developments, I am looking to create a sort of family tree. However I would like to solely focus on my grandfather's family and photographs from when he was growing up. I will use portraits of his parents and brothers and hang them as triangular prisms against a white background. To show a family tree, I am also going to thread these images together to create a family tree. In later developments, I am going to then show more of my grandmother's youth however for my first developments, my work will depict my grandfather's immediate family.
First Developments:
Contact Sheet:
This contact sheet shows all of the images taken of my first developments. I have taken then at different angles, some are close-up, to show more detail, and some further away, to show the background. During this photoshoot, I took 48 images which detail both the front and back of multiple edits. I am not going to need to edit these a lot because majority of the work ahs been applied during the creative process. The steps taken to make these edits are below. I wanted to start by stitching over single images before exploring further work. These images were taken with an f-stop of 1.8, which helps to blur the background and allow the image to focus on specific parts of the photo rather than the whole composition. This is achieved through the wider lens which then can let more light in the lens and allow better focus. To heighten this affect I use an ISO of 32.
Creative Process:
My first developments are sewn in tracing paper because it allows the composition to stand out. I separated figures from the background and then sew around them using a blanket stitch and a single or double stitch.
The inspiration for these edits are above and they centre the work around hidden identity. This unlike Maurizio Anzeri's work is not focused on covering faces but instead showing how they are missing from images. This I have done through separating the figures frothier backgrounds and either reattaching them through thread, like seen on the left, or using a blanket stitch to emphasise the fact that the person is missing, on the right.
This edit was created because I was originally going to sew this image as a second development, however it ripped so I decided to highlight the tear in the image usingg thread to reattach the head of this baby to the body. I have used white thread to represent purity and a thin and thicker thread at different points. The thin thread around the head represents the fragility of youth and emphasises the baby's youthful identity. The thicker thread represents the strong support a baby requires to grow. This composition emphasises the infant's age and therefore their identity. This creative process shows the front and back of this edit.
Edits:
These edits did not require any editing apart from cropping the image occasionally, so I have not created an editing process. These edits show hidden identity by separating people from the background of images and reattaching them or through otherwise using stitching to emphasise the void. The anonymous people remain intriguing as they cause the audience to wonder who they were, what they were doing or possibly their backstory as well. On average each edit took approximately two hours to plan, sew and upload to my website. For all these edits, I have used family photographs dating back from the early twentieth century. They include images of my grandparents when they were children and my great grandparents in their work and family. In later developments, I would like to create a three dimensional object similar to Lisa Kokin's chair to extend my study on Kokin.
Highlighting Success:
Using a highlighting success is useful in showing your most successful work and to be able to see how your original concept has improved and developed into an edit. I chose two images of my Grandfather at his work where he worked as a lawyer. I thought that the way the image had been reattached showed the contrast in the mood of the image. The lawyer's are very focused on their work and are looking downwards, whereas the thread pulls their heads upwards juxtaposing their action. This then emphasises their identity, in this case their job. The other images chosen were the neatest and embodied Lisa Kokin's art however also having elements or individuality and showing some of my own ideas.
Second Developments:
Contact Sheet:
This contact sheet shows the photographs that I took when shooting my second developments. I have placed them in a contact sheet and each one contains a maximum of thirty images. This shoot included 36 images and using crosses I can discard the images that are either poor quality, are not in focus, or where the composition is cropped out. I will use photoshop to edit the circled images.
Creative Process:
To begin with I printed off images of my family, for these developments, I wanted to focus on my grandfather's side of the family: his parents, brother and himself. This image is of my grandfather. Using a blanket stitch I secwedthe edges of the image and repeats this process six times using a thicker thread.
After this, I attached two of the images together by threading each blanket stitch, attaching them to the other image and allowing me to then form a prism shape.
Next, I attached a piece of cardboard to each image using pea glue or double sided tape. This made each image more stable and meant they would be able to stand on their own.
I added cardboard to the backs of each prism to make them more secure and then threaded a wire through the top, whilst making sure that it was not visible.
Next, I attached the wire to the bottom for another pyramid, connecting all three together.
Here you can see how the edit will look, it shows a family tree in a sense, of my grandfather's nuclear family. I attached this to a white background and then photographed it.
This image shows the cardboard and wire skeleton without the images onto to demonstrate how they attach together.
Edits:
My second development, is a three dimensional family tree with my great grandparents at the head and branching down either side are two sets of images, one set of my grandfather and the other of his brother. The creation of a family tree develops the fact that these images are unique and personal to me and that they not only represent the identity of each individual's role in their family, but also hold some of my identity and family background. Whilst creating this developments, I learnt more bout his side of the family and where he grew up and what his parent's were like. This made me more educated on and connected to my heritage. This allowed me to put into perspective how similarities in appearance occur across generations and how certain features, which may be crucial to one's identity, are a repeat of a previous family member. I shot this development at different angles using a rang of close-up, wide and medium shots. I was keen to capture the prisms, which I did through the use of a variety of positions. Whilst this work has many elements of Lisa Kokin's work, she has created 2D family trees and 3D boxes before, I made it unique by making the actual family tree 3D. These edits did not require any editing and the majority of time spent was on the sewing process. These images were taken with an f-stop of 1.8, which helps to blur the background and allow the image to focus on specific parts of the photo rather than the whole composition. This is achieved through the wider lens which then can let more light in the lens and allow better focus. To heighten this affect I use an ISO of 32. In a later development, I would like to look at multiple images rather than only a couple.
Highlighting Success:
Whilst this particular highlighting success shows the same subject, what makes each one successful is the angles. The different sides that they show show the family tree from all angles and accentuate the subject by adding depth to the images.
Third Developments:
Creative Process:
I printed of images like I have done for all other developments, and then cut around the figures. After this, I used a needle to stencil where I am going to stitch. I wanted the thread to cross over the front of the figures because, it would create the impression that each person is weaved together. The stitching was a backstitch and some images had more stitches than others. The first photograph on the left shows the beginning of sewing an cut out from the behind. On the right, the front of how an image looks in the process of being embroided and the next image below on the left is one paper with more stitches compared to the one above.
From the start, I began experimenting with the layout of the collage. For a while, I debated making it only female after seeing that the second developments mainly featured males, however, because I wanted to create something similar to a family tree, I thought it important to include a myriad of people. As more images began to be sewn over, I used where the threads reached the end of each cut out, to attach them to another figure. Each image had at least seven attachments. The intention behind this was to show that each person had a complex network of connections to another person and through that showing each individuals' identity.
Contact Sheet:
This contact sheet shows all the images taken of my third developments. Some of these were taken using some wide shots and also some at a close range angle. These images focus on one image from the collage. I have taken these images against a white background. To differentiate between images I can go onto use and images which I can;'t I have used red crosses and circles.
Edits:
My third developments centre and recreate around Lisa Kokin's 'Forget Me-Not' collage, where she had sewn images of women together using thread to connect them. Instead of focusing on gender, I have merged a variety of photographs of my mum's parents together to show not only her background and heritage but mine. Throughout exploring this artist, I have only focused on one group or individual within my family, however for this development, I wanted to conclude my study on both sides of my mum's family to show hoow over generations people's identity merge and interlink. Part of my identity lies within my mum's as we are in many ways a slightly altered version of my parent's. The editing of these images did not require anything beyond sewing. Above the gallery shows specific parts of the collage whereas the image below is of the collage from a distance and as a whole.
Highlighting Success:
I have chosen these images for my highlighting success because the stitch lines where positioned the best and flowed the nicest with the rest of the collage. Furthermore, the first image is arguably the centre of the collage and is what draws the most attention. This is because the images seem closer together and have more thread connecting them. Other photos in this gallery are main features in my third developments. For my final outcome I would like to look into more three dimensional work such as in my second developments and create something free standing rather than against a background.
Reshoot:
Contact Sheet:
I have made this contact sheet of a new photoshoot that I did of my second developments hanging against a wall. A contact sheet is a useful way of visualizing which images can be edited or used and which cannot. This is shown through the red crosses, on the images I will not use. On the other hand the red circles, show which images were the most successful and those that I can use. I will, not create an editing process because these images like Lisa Kokin's work do not require editing beyond cropping.
Edits:
When Lisa Kokin created a collage of images sewn together, hers was photographed vertically against a wall, so these edits were taken hanging from a white background. This helps highlight the thread and the stitches by showing how they connect and support the individual images. Many of these images were taken with a low angle or a up-close angle which makes the images have more depth and appear three dimensional. This effect is heightened by the low aperture of 1.8, which ensures the background is blurred and the thread is the main focus of the images.
Highlighting Success:
I chose these images in this highlighting success, because they have the most dimension and depth. The ISO, which is 132, has limited the light entering the camera and therefore has blurred the background of these edits, emphasising the central composition. These photographs were the best as well because of the way that the stitching is highlighted and interwoven with the people. To improve my work, I could blend the se of collages with my first developments.
Final Outcome:
Gallery of Inpiration:
To complete the work on this artist, I have decided to merge ideas from each development to create a final outcome. From my first developments, I am going to use silhouettes, the second developments have inspired me to border my work with a blanket stitch and my third developments illustrate a collage and so I could possibly incorporate this in my outcome.
Editing Process:
Similar to what I did in my third developments, I cut out figures, however I made them significantly smaller than the figure from the silhouette they will be joined to. This would provide space for me to attach the two together. The stitching on both images on the left and right is a blanket stitch which involves bordering the edges of all of these photographs. Next, I placed the image in the matching background and finalised the placement. Then by looping the thread through each blanket stitch, I began attaching the two. However, I made sure to leave slack between each stitch so that the image would be centered in the background. I repeated this with two other images. Two of the three edits' figures match the background, however the second to bottom image on the left shows one edit within which I blended two photographs together. This edit is the top left one, thee boy with the tie. To finish off, I used elements from my third developments: collaging using thread, to combine the three into a final product. On the bottom right, the back of my final outcome and on the bottom left, the front is shown. To photograph, I stuck the edit against a white background using blutack, so that it hung vertically and each stitch was illustrated to be supporting the edits more.
Contact Sheet:
In this contact sheet, I have included the images from the creative process which meant I had a smaller selection of images to choose from. The crosses show which images were not successfully taken, mainly because the lens had not adjusted and therefore the photo was out of focus. On the other hand, more successful images used a range of angles such as a bird's eye and a wide angle which added variety to my images. These images were taken with an f-stop of 1.8, which helps to blur the background and allow the image to focus on specific parts of the photo rather than the whole composition. This is achieved through the wider lens which then can let more light in the lens and allow better focus. To heighten this affect I use an ISO of 32.
Outcome:
This final outcome links three images: two of my grandpa, and one of my grandma when they were both little. Throughout both my second artist and this one, I have used images from my mum's family, because I feel more attached to them and it makes my work more personal and unique. To show each individual's character, I have either sewn over or sewn together images. This artist, Lisa Kokin, created a plethora of works some using outlines of figures. Nothing I have created for this outcome directly recreates any of her work, however it does blend together elements, three of which I have shown in my gallery of inspiration. If I were to revisit this artist, it would be an idea to create a three dimensional furniture or object like Kokin's famous chair.
