Wednesday, 22 June 2011
To the Gallery.
Both of my pieces are now completed and they are ready for the installation at the New Walsall Art Gallery. I am happy with the work that I have produced and I am looking forward to it being installed on the 27th June. Here are the final images of my work in my home. I will soon post more images of my work in the gallery as soon as its installed...
The making of my air vent.
I set up about making my air vent in a similar way to how I made my door. The plan was to create a wooden frame and then fix an air vent on the top. Although the hard part of this process was not making it, but finding a suitable air vent or grill. Ideally I wanted one of a size where realistically a person could physically climb through. However finding this was harder than I thought. In the end I had to settle with a standard 9 x 9 inch vent as this was the largest I could get my hands on. This was after I had searched high and low through DIY stores and scrap yards. I found that 6 x 9 was too small and six foot high in the air it would ultimately look lost and uncomfortable. At a time I wandered about abandoning this section of my piece however I decided that this work would only work as a pair. Another problem I had was finding the lighting. It had to be a specific size. Also I had to look for powerful lights ideally mains powered but again this was dreaming for the actuall space I had and practicallity. So I had to find battery powered lighting. Because they are powered by battery I had to find a solution to them lasting the distance. The only way to do this is if they are used wisely and switched off when not needed. Obviously being six foot in the air this was a brain teaser. I had to find lights where the switch could be accessed easily. I had to cut various holes so this could be done. The easiest way to explain is by looking at my image.
Because of the depth of my box the light behind the air vent doesn't spread as evenly as in the door does. To comprimise with this I have bought more lighting so that it doesn't look odd and it looks more complete. But like I explained earlier my theory of actually escaping through the vent seems impossible but now it is about what is behind the vent and and does the door lead to this other place? Where is the light coming from?
I am happy with this result, a little dissapointed that my air vent theory has had to slightly alter but im still pleased with it and all I have to do now is add another two lights to the upper section, as you can see its all painted and ready so once the lightingss complete its ready to be installed in the gallery.
Because of the depth of my box the light behind the air vent doesn't spread as evenly as in the door does. To comprimise with this I have bought more lighting so that it doesn't look odd and it looks more complete. But like I explained earlier my theory of actually escaping through the vent seems impossible but now it is about what is behind the vent and and does the door lead to this other place? Where is the light coming from?
I am happy with this result, a little dissapointed that my air vent theory has had to slightly alter but im still pleased with it and all I have to do now is add another two lights to the upper section, as you can see its all painted and ready so once the lightingss complete its ready to be installed in the gallery.
Friday, 10 June 2011
Door Piece - Complete.
My last " Door" post showed it nearly finished. In this post I will show you more detailed images of the build and as you go through these images you will see my progression and the final one is the finished piece.
This is my door when it was first built. As you can see the lights have been fitted. I have used silver hinges because once painted I believe these will look better. The door itself was easy enough to fix to the frame and the lights were easily clip in however as you will see in the next images fitting the lights was slightly more tricky. Also by this stage before any lights were fixed I had sanded down the edges to create a nicer and smoother finish.
Here you can see a clearer view of my lights, how they are fixed and what they look like turned on. The lights themselves are ideal as they swivel allowing me to reflect the LED lights to wherever I want. Also you can see what I mean when I say tricky. At the back of the door I have had to use a router to cut a path for the lights wires so that when my piece is fitted to the gallery wall the wires are not squashed. Also there is an image of once it has been painted but you may notice I have had to cut a large hole so that I can implement the LED transformer into my piece so it is hidden from the audience. All other wires will be hidden under the ground.
This is the final image of my door. You can see that it is painted and also you may notice the vinyl sign. I am still pondering whether to keep this, change it or leave it off all together.
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Fine Art Essay.
Doors - Our guardian, frame and front cover of our lives.
This essay will explore my interests and theories in relation to my studio practice. My work has naturally evolved from my previous study of architecture and psychogeography. Primarily looking at psycho geography opened up my work to a variety of avenues and interests. Offering me the possibility of using maps in an open ended way to explore urban spaces, after my exploratory work around local urban landscapes and cities, I decided it would be of my best interest to continue in a way where I could dig deeper into my original discoveries about my local society, how it works and more importantly how people work.
The front covers of our existence.
Sometimes it’s hard to find an escape or somewhere to hide, so in my practice, particularly my final submission for the art gallery I will point out the fine line between an opportunity begging and staring you in the face and another where it doesn’t’ necessary stand out. I will have done this discretely not allowing the obvious to stand out but never taking the objects purpose away. My pieces need to capture the audience’s imagination so they can relive their childhood obsessions and dreams. Audiences must feel the need to understand the purpose of my practice and where it may lead. I began term one exploring many different theories and practises such as architecture and Psychogeography. Finally these lead me to my Final Major Project “Front covers of our existence”. I will explain my journey throughout many different themes starting from urban exploration and explaining how I got to the stage where I am now.
Psycho geographic practices
(1).
One of the basic situationist practices is the dérive [literally: “drifting”], a technique
of rapid passage through varied ambiances. Dérives involve playful-constructive behavior
and awareness of psycho geographical effects, and are thus quite different from
the classic notions of journey or stroll.
Psychogeography holds many different meanings, I’ve practiced the exploration of urban landscapes and cities also in my own work. Psychogeography is a process where anyone can get involved with through the internet. It originated from human curiosity and tendency to drift away and explore environments. It involves many playful and inventive strategies to find answers. Being very experimental and letting yourself become encapsulated by mystery is the aim, as it was my own aim when I followed the maps on my circuit boards. I allowed myself to ignore my surroundings and followed these trails across Birmingham recording my discoveries. These became my inspiration for this practice. Unexpectedly I concluded my findings in places I would not have guessed, places I would not normally stray. Hypothetically It was to see if these directions had any place in real life? Or do they just work electronically? Interestingly enough it was not the destination where I was to find my answers but the journey, the derive held the importance.
I used the derive as an action in which I could let myself go to where ever I was taken in the moment and make discoveries. I got used to this, finding many new walks of life and desire lines. This concept of psychogeography has lead me to understand the human way of travel. Our tendencies to cut corners and treasure time. I began unravelling informal paths that have been created. These paths are more formally known as desire lines. This concept also connects with the journey’s of life and the many variations of doors we may or may not pass.
Desire Lines
(2).
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”
Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Psychogeography taught me about exploration and how you must ignore everything else that is happening around you to discover the full potential of new spaces. Also if I had not researched this theory I would have not fully appreciated exploration techniques, resulting in me not being able to present my findings about society with as much belief and detail. Psychogeography has helped link together all of my ideas and assist me in moving through all of the themes in my work.
I have a strong interest in redundancy and abandonment issues, I’ve worked on these themes for a while progressing from neglection in people, electronics and more recently architecture. After my original research and exploration I early on determined an area of work I would like to pursue. I knew I wanted my practice to link with property and architecture so I took this direction. Urban exploration has been my general driving point, exploring and documenting my discoveries. My expeditions lead me to many redundant buildings. I was spurred on at the time by a national study in the Daily Mail newspaper where it claimed Walsall was listed number two in the section for large centre shop closures. It had a percentage of 26%. I wanted to see this, so I decided to discover it for myself.
Architecture in the 1900’s had a huge influence on my practice. Architects in this time period began developing new architectural solutions with new technological possibilities. It was after the second world war when sky scrapers began arising. They were made from new, fresh and exciting materials. I learnt more about post war architecture and found two integral sites for my study. Trellick Tower (London) and D’Habitation (Marseilles). I became increasingly interested in most architects visions of the future, the concept of streets in the sky.
Le Corbusier described buildings as “machines for living”.
This is the idea of automatically producing communities within high rise flats, just like Goldfinger’s Trellick Tower and Corbusier’s Unit De’ Habitation. These two examples were the first of their kind and promised great things. Unlike many other examples today these two now have a famous part in history and now are relatively successful. Many other post war tower blocks have been demolished or now sit abandoned. The worlds utopian vision of living experience has merely happened and has become quite the opposite. This downfall in property and redundancy is shown in my practice.
(3).
In the 1960’s modern architecture received criticism, architecture critic Siegfried Giedion said “It seemed universal, elitist and lacked meaning” and “At the moment a certain confusion exists in contemporary architecture as in painting, a kind of pause, even a kind of exhaustion”
(4).
D’Habitation.
Goldfinger saw his role very much as an artist, bringing a view of the social future a21s well as the functional present:
Whenever space is enclosed a spatial sensation will automatically result for persons who happen to be within it... it is the artist who comprehends the social requirements of his time and is able to integrate the technical potentialities in order to shape the spaces of the future.
Potentially I can see a vision of the future where we all get what we desire. We already have the ability to drift away in our imagination. I believe that the day will come when our dreams can easily become reality. Leading on from my architectural study I continued my practice with the vision of a utopian escape. After influence from urban exploration and studies I pinpointed a common feature. A front door. I thought about what these doors represented and what they have experienced? Our Psyche takes us down different paths and through many doors. A door is the metaphor for our lives they represent new beginnings and endings. I’ve focused my priority on the heritage and history of doors. I’m interested in the life that a door has lived. Mostly I’ve been visiting and documenting doors of my particular interest and analysing their value. There is no definition for a door because they all represent a different way of life, and everybody owns a door. Doors live with us through our lives and memory expressing our personalities. A door is not simply a plank of wood or a cut of PVC but a guardian, frame and front cover for our lives.
My current practice involves me creating the illusions of both a door and air vent leading to alternate realities. The aim is to represent a whole world to be discovered, a lifeline and guide to many corridors in life and theoretically the idea of a more utopian reality. Most human being’s find themselves running around in circles, desperate to break the trend. Often life in general accustoms to a strict daily routine where everything is planned and superstitions are created which can dictate our routine. The practice I pursue is to offer assurance that you might find yourself travelling down endless corridors but you will never know what‘s right around the corner. Also I aim for people to realise that its not the appearance but what’s inside which matters. It is for my audience to determine what lies behind my door and vent, I hope for it to ask questions of people and also offer them a mental escape. In my work I want people to believe in what they see; I want people to have faith in the images and instillations that I present.
Michael Landy’s practice creates questions about value, usefulness and employment. Similarly I expect my work to question such issues.
(5).
Landy explains “The installation questions the way in which we value and identify ourselves through labour”
Landy often uses his work to make his audience address their own personal issues. He feels “Semi-detached” his large scale installation of his fathers house defines him, he was raised here and his family still remain there. I admire the realism and sentiment of Landy’s Semi-detached, I hope that my practice can similarly emulate the standard Landy has set in this piece of work. I hope people also sincerely see my work to be realistic as this element holds the key to my work being successful. I always aim for my work to have the element of feeling real if not actually being real. This is vital for my practice when gathering material and the method of gathering it. I agree with how journalist Kirsten Bailey describes Semi-detached;
(6).
“Because your in an art gallery, and programmed to observe, you notice the little things which would normally pass you by - the odd rusty nail poking out of the brickwork, bits of wire, the broken-off washing line…”
My project “Front covers of our existence” emphasises my desire is to help people learn the value of opportunity and chance, many elements of life are overlooked and often as humans we underestimate the chances we are given. Everybody takes chances some work out and others don’t, It’s the realisation that another will come along that I stress in my practice. The idea I follow is that one door leads to another. There are always options and various avenues. My practice hopefully spells out opportunity, development and chance. Every fantasy takes you somewhere new; we do not know where we may end up. “Hitchcock Hallway” by Danish artists Aslak Vibaek and Peter Dossing, is another installation I admire. I can relate to the installations sense of mystery and the meaning behind it. Ikon Eastside’s exhibition advert reads,
(7).
“The entrance to the gallery is replaced by a door - what lies beyond is for the visitor to discover”
AVPD draw inspiration from literature, film and science and they look at how our bodies react to certain spaces. This co-insides with my previous video experimentation “Between these four walls” (8). I also looked into the science of a human and our tendencies in today’s society. Also similarly I took inspiration from literature, Gaston Bachelard’s “Poetics Of Space”.
(9).
“For the moment I should like to point out the original fullness of the house’s being. Our daydreams carry us back to it. And the poet well knows that the house holds childhood motionless, in its arms.”
(10).
“The house we were born in is more than an embodiment of home, it is also an embodiment of dreams.”
As you know my practice revolves around doors, so firstly for my final piece a door will be made. After strenuous planning I have drew up a design which seemed viable. (11) “Final design of proposal”. The design is integral to my concept so I had to keep between the lines of my concepts and the practicality of the work so that the power of my final piece is not affected. Many factors that I have to think about, size and shape are integral, not just visibly but structurally the piece needs to meet health and safety requirements. Also it’s important to realize my piece won’t just be in any space but specifically in the gallery. This often requires me to visit my area regularly so I can visualize the show. I’ve often learnt how work can change in its environment so this is something that I have had to play with; due to the great and huge wall space I’ve been granted. It’s my aim to make my work fit comfortably in its surroundings; my door needs to feel like it belongs there. (12) “How my door final piece may look”
My planning has stumbled on many occasions, this due to the struggle with keeping its meaning in-tact. In many ways I can see great idea’s which are really not feasible. For instance I concluded at one point that I could create the ultimate experience by constructing an exterior wall along the original; however after speaking with technicians I found that due to many constrictions it was not realistically possible. Similarly to my door creation I will make another object. This is another brain-teaser for the audience. The idea to create another escape route is so that there is a theme and some continuality in my work. The other idea is to construct an air vent. This shall be made with the same high standards of the door and will have more or less the same requirements. Both pieces will be made from wood and then coated with the same paint the gallery uses on their walls. This is so that when my pieces are secured in the gallery there is not a difference in the shade of colour. This will smoothly blend my contributions into the wall giving them a feel of value and belonging. Equally as important as the structure is the lighting that my work requires. This is to generate a sense of mystery and provoke reactions. I believe that a ray of light both peeping through the door and through the vent offers an insight to another place and proves existence. Also at the same time opens up viewers imaginations and reinforces their own personal beliefs.
I believe that once completed my final piece will match the requirements needed in order for it to be successful. I think that my final piece will tie together any loose ends in my sketchbook and will clarify the under lying meaning throughout my practice. Many opportunity’s still exist in this world, where most recently it has been doubted. My recent work is all about highlighting opportunity and supporting belief. Hope is what gets many people through every day life. Once I believe that my message is understood more widely I see my work moving towards celebrating where hope can lead. What is behind my door? This will be something I will work towards in the future. Even if my recent practice only reaches one person, that will be an achievement for me to have influenced somebody. My work is aimed to influence people and that is the purpose of creating it , so I hope my recent work reaches out to someone.
Bibliography.
(Figure 1). http://www.tbook.constantvzw.org/wp-content/derivedebord.pdf
(Figure 2). http://37days.typepad.com/37days/2005/12/follow_your_des.html and image below.
(Figure 3). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_architecture
(Figure 4). http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/trellick/index.htm and image below.
(Figure 5)
http://www.socialaffairsunit.org.uk/blog/archives/000202.php
(Figure 6).
http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/time/georgian+and+victorian/art23026 and image below.
(Figure 7). http://www.weareeastside.com/2010/09/opening-this-friday-hitchcock-hallway- at-ikon-eastside/ and image below.
(Figure 8). “Between these four walls”, image below.
(Figure 9).
The Poetics Of Space - Gaston Bachelard, Beacon Press Books. Page 7/8.
(Figure 10).
The Poetics Of Space - Gaston Bachelard, Beacon Press Books. Page 15.
(Figure 11). “Final design of proposal”, image below.
(Figure 12). “How my door final piece may look”, image below.
This essay will explore my interests and theories in relation to my studio practice. My work has naturally evolved from my previous study of architecture and psychogeography. Primarily looking at psycho geography opened up my work to a variety of avenues and interests. Offering me the possibility of using maps in an open ended way to explore urban spaces, after my exploratory work around local urban landscapes and cities, I decided it would be of my best interest to continue in a way where I could dig deeper into my original discoveries about my local society, how it works and more importantly how people work.
The front covers of our existence.
Sometimes it’s hard to find an escape or somewhere to hide, so in my practice, particularly my final submission for the art gallery I will point out the fine line between an opportunity begging and staring you in the face and another where it doesn’t’ necessary stand out. I will have done this discretely not allowing the obvious to stand out but never taking the objects purpose away. My pieces need to capture the audience’s imagination so they can relive their childhood obsessions and dreams. Audiences must feel the need to understand the purpose of my practice and where it may lead. I began term one exploring many different theories and practises such as architecture and Psychogeography. Finally these lead me to my Final Major Project “Front covers of our existence”. I will explain my journey throughout many different themes starting from urban exploration and explaining how I got to the stage where I am now.
Psycho geographic practices
(1).
One of the basic situationist practices is the dérive [literally: “drifting”], a technique
of rapid passage through varied ambiances. Dérives involve playful-constructive behavior
and awareness of psycho geographical effects, and are thus quite different from
the classic notions of journey or stroll.
Psychogeography holds many different meanings, I’ve practiced the exploration of urban landscapes and cities also in my own work. Psychogeography is a process where anyone can get involved with through the internet. It originated from human curiosity and tendency to drift away and explore environments. It involves many playful and inventive strategies to find answers. Being very experimental and letting yourself become encapsulated by mystery is the aim, as it was my own aim when I followed the maps on my circuit boards. I allowed myself to ignore my surroundings and followed these trails across Birmingham recording my discoveries. These became my inspiration for this practice. Unexpectedly I concluded my findings in places I would not have guessed, places I would not normally stray. Hypothetically It was to see if these directions had any place in real life? Or do they just work electronically? Interestingly enough it was not the destination where I was to find my answers but the journey, the derive held the importance.
I used the derive as an action in which I could let myself go to where ever I was taken in the moment and make discoveries. I got used to this, finding many new walks of life and desire lines. This concept of psychogeography has lead me to understand the human way of travel. Our tendencies to cut corners and treasure time. I began unravelling informal paths that have been created. These paths are more formally known as desire lines. This concept also connects with the journey’s of life and the many variations of doors we may or may not pass.
Desire Lines
(2).
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”
Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Psychogeography taught me about exploration and how you must ignore everything else that is happening around you to discover the full potential of new spaces. Also if I had not researched this theory I would have not fully appreciated exploration techniques, resulting in me not being able to present my findings about society with as much belief and detail. Psychogeography has helped link together all of my ideas and assist me in moving through all of the themes in my work.
I have a strong interest in redundancy and abandonment issues, I’ve worked on these themes for a while progressing from neglection in people, electronics and more recently architecture. After my original research and exploration I early on determined an area of work I would like to pursue. I knew I wanted my practice to link with property and architecture so I took this direction. Urban exploration has been my general driving point, exploring and documenting my discoveries. My expeditions lead me to many redundant buildings. I was spurred on at the time by a national study in the Daily Mail newspaper where it claimed Walsall was listed number two in the section for large centre shop closures. It had a percentage of 26%. I wanted to see this, so I decided to discover it for myself.
Architecture in the 1900’s had a huge influence on my practice. Architects in this time period began developing new architectural solutions with new technological possibilities. It was after the second world war when sky scrapers began arising. They were made from new, fresh and exciting materials. I learnt more about post war architecture and found two integral sites for my study. Trellick Tower (London) and D’Habitation (Marseilles). I became increasingly interested in most architects visions of the future, the concept of streets in the sky.
Le Corbusier described buildings as “machines for living”.
This is the idea of automatically producing communities within high rise flats, just like Goldfinger’s Trellick Tower and Corbusier’s Unit De’ Habitation. These two examples were the first of their kind and promised great things. Unlike many other examples today these two now have a famous part in history and now are relatively successful. Many other post war tower blocks have been demolished or now sit abandoned. The worlds utopian vision of living experience has merely happened and has become quite the opposite. This downfall in property and redundancy is shown in my practice.
(3).
In the 1960’s modern architecture received criticism, architecture critic Siegfried Giedion said “It seemed universal, elitist and lacked meaning” and “At the moment a certain confusion exists in contemporary architecture as in painting, a kind of pause, even a kind of exhaustion”
(4).
D’Habitation.
Goldfinger saw his role very much as an artist, bringing a view of the social future a21s well as the functional present:
Whenever space is enclosed a spatial sensation will automatically result for persons who happen to be within it... it is the artist who comprehends the social requirements of his time and is able to integrate the technical potentialities in order to shape the spaces of the future.
Potentially I can see a vision of the future where we all get what we desire. We already have the ability to drift away in our imagination. I believe that the day will come when our dreams can easily become reality. Leading on from my architectural study I continued my practice with the vision of a utopian escape. After influence from urban exploration and studies I pinpointed a common feature. A front door. I thought about what these doors represented and what they have experienced? Our Psyche takes us down different paths and through many doors. A door is the metaphor for our lives they represent new beginnings and endings. I’ve focused my priority on the heritage and history of doors. I’m interested in the life that a door has lived. Mostly I’ve been visiting and documenting doors of my particular interest and analysing their value. There is no definition for a door because they all represent a different way of life, and everybody owns a door. Doors live with us through our lives and memory expressing our personalities. A door is not simply a plank of wood or a cut of PVC but a guardian, frame and front cover for our lives.
My current practice involves me creating the illusions of both a door and air vent leading to alternate realities. The aim is to represent a whole world to be discovered, a lifeline and guide to many corridors in life and theoretically the idea of a more utopian reality. Most human being’s find themselves running around in circles, desperate to break the trend. Often life in general accustoms to a strict daily routine where everything is planned and superstitions are created which can dictate our routine. The practice I pursue is to offer assurance that you might find yourself travelling down endless corridors but you will never know what‘s right around the corner. Also I aim for people to realise that its not the appearance but what’s inside which matters. It is for my audience to determine what lies behind my door and vent, I hope for it to ask questions of people and also offer them a mental escape. In my work I want people to believe in what they see; I want people to have faith in the images and instillations that I present.
Michael Landy’s practice creates questions about value, usefulness and employment. Similarly I expect my work to question such issues.
(5).
Landy explains “The installation questions the way in which we value and identify ourselves through labour”
Landy often uses his work to make his audience address their own personal issues. He feels “Semi-detached” his large scale installation of his fathers house defines him, he was raised here and his family still remain there. I admire the realism and sentiment of Landy’s Semi-detached, I hope that my practice can similarly emulate the standard Landy has set in this piece of work. I hope people also sincerely see my work to be realistic as this element holds the key to my work being successful. I always aim for my work to have the element of feeling real if not actually being real. This is vital for my practice when gathering material and the method of gathering it. I agree with how journalist Kirsten Bailey describes Semi-detached;
(6).
“Because your in an art gallery, and programmed to observe, you notice the little things which would normally pass you by - the odd rusty nail poking out of the brickwork, bits of wire, the broken-off washing line…”
My project “Front covers of our existence” emphasises my desire is to help people learn the value of opportunity and chance, many elements of life are overlooked and often as humans we underestimate the chances we are given. Everybody takes chances some work out and others don’t, It’s the realisation that another will come along that I stress in my practice. The idea I follow is that one door leads to another. There are always options and various avenues. My practice hopefully spells out opportunity, development and chance. Every fantasy takes you somewhere new; we do not know where we may end up. “Hitchcock Hallway” by Danish artists Aslak Vibaek and Peter Dossing, is another installation I admire. I can relate to the installations sense of mystery and the meaning behind it. Ikon Eastside’s exhibition advert reads,
(7).
“The entrance to the gallery is replaced by a door - what lies beyond is for the visitor to discover”
AVPD draw inspiration from literature, film and science and they look at how our bodies react to certain spaces. This co-insides with my previous video experimentation “Between these four walls” (8). I also looked into the science of a human and our tendencies in today’s society. Also similarly I took inspiration from literature, Gaston Bachelard’s “Poetics Of Space”.
(9).
“For the moment I should like to point out the original fullness of the house’s being. Our daydreams carry us back to it. And the poet well knows that the house holds childhood motionless, in its arms.”
(10).
“The house we were born in is more than an embodiment of home, it is also an embodiment of dreams.”
As you know my practice revolves around doors, so firstly for my final piece a door will be made. After strenuous planning I have drew up a design which seemed viable. (11) “Final design of proposal”. The design is integral to my concept so I had to keep between the lines of my concepts and the practicality of the work so that the power of my final piece is not affected. Many factors that I have to think about, size and shape are integral, not just visibly but structurally the piece needs to meet health and safety requirements. Also it’s important to realize my piece won’t just be in any space but specifically in the gallery. This often requires me to visit my area regularly so I can visualize the show. I’ve often learnt how work can change in its environment so this is something that I have had to play with; due to the great and huge wall space I’ve been granted. It’s my aim to make my work fit comfortably in its surroundings; my door needs to feel like it belongs there. (12) “How my door final piece may look”
My planning has stumbled on many occasions, this due to the struggle with keeping its meaning in-tact. In many ways I can see great idea’s which are really not feasible. For instance I concluded at one point that I could create the ultimate experience by constructing an exterior wall along the original; however after speaking with technicians I found that due to many constrictions it was not realistically possible. Similarly to my door creation I will make another object. This is another brain-teaser for the audience. The idea to create another escape route is so that there is a theme and some continuality in my work. The other idea is to construct an air vent. This shall be made with the same high standards of the door and will have more or less the same requirements. Both pieces will be made from wood and then coated with the same paint the gallery uses on their walls. This is so that when my pieces are secured in the gallery there is not a difference in the shade of colour. This will smoothly blend my contributions into the wall giving them a feel of value and belonging. Equally as important as the structure is the lighting that my work requires. This is to generate a sense of mystery and provoke reactions. I believe that a ray of light both peeping through the door and through the vent offers an insight to another place and proves existence. Also at the same time opens up viewers imaginations and reinforces their own personal beliefs.
I believe that once completed my final piece will match the requirements needed in order for it to be successful. I think that my final piece will tie together any loose ends in my sketchbook and will clarify the under lying meaning throughout my practice. Many opportunity’s still exist in this world, where most recently it has been doubted. My recent work is all about highlighting opportunity and supporting belief. Hope is what gets many people through every day life. Once I believe that my message is understood more widely I see my work moving towards celebrating where hope can lead. What is behind my door? This will be something I will work towards in the future. Even if my recent practice only reaches one person, that will be an achievement for me to have influenced somebody. My work is aimed to influence people and that is the purpose of creating it , so I hope my recent work reaches out to someone.
Bibliography.
(Figure 1). http://www.tbook.constantvzw.org/wp-content/derivedebord.pdf
(Figure 2). http://37days.typepad.com/37days/2005/12/follow_your_des.html and image below.
(Figure 3). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_architecture
(Figure 4). http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/trellick/index.htm and image below.
(Figure 5)
http://www.socialaffairsunit.org.uk/blog/archives/000202.php
(Figure 6).
http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%26+heritage/time/georgian+and+victorian/art23026 and image below.
(Figure 7). http://www.weareeastside.com/2010/09/opening-this-friday-hitchcock-hallway- at-ikon-eastside/ and image below.
(Figure 8). “Between these four walls”, image below.
(Figure 9).
The Poetics Of Space - Gaston Bachelard, Beacon Press Books. Page 7/8.
(Figure 10).
The Poetics Of Space - Gaston Bachelard, Beacon Press Books. Page 15.
(Figure 11). “Final design of proposal”, image below.
(Figure 12). “How my door final piece may look”, image below.
The making of my door.
As you know my current practice involves me creating the illusions of both a door and air vent leading to alternate realities. My planning has stumbled on many occasions, this due to the struggle with keeping its meaning in-tact. In many ways I can see great idea’s which are really not feasible. For instance I concluded at one point that I could create the ultimate experience by constructing an exterior wall along the original; however after speaking with technicians I found that due to many constrictions it was not realistically possible. Equally as important as the structure is the lighting that my work requires. This is to generate a sense of mystery and provoke reactions. I believe that a ray of light both peeping through the door and through the vent offers an insight to another place and proves existence. Also at the same time opens up viewers imaginations and reinforces their own personal beliefs. Now after all of my planning was complete my next aim was to actually start building. I got my materials and then started to build the frame structure.
This photograph gave me an idea of how it may look along a wall. I am also aware that the gallery wall is alot bigger so I had to seriously consider the size of the door.
In my first build I made a few minor mistakes but I want my final piece to look top quality so I decided to build it again. I screwed all of the frame together and then the next stage was to attatch the door using hinges. Once I had done this I need to find the correct source of light to do the required job.
As already explained I need a strong ray of light coming from behind the door. I managed to get a set of three LED lights powerful enough to give of the right amount of light and also longer lasting. I had previously experienced that battery operated lights were not appropriate for many reasons.
These are the battery powered lights. They are not nearly enough powerful and also not long enough lasting to work over the exhibition duration. Also the light is not very spread out and you can tell they are individual spotlights I returned these and looked for something more powerful.
This is my door with the mains powered lights, they are actually cabinet lights. This looks much alot better and more believable. I am very happy with how this has resulted, this is how I aimed it to look. I am aware that the gallery won't be as dark as this but I have tested these light in other conditions and they work well. This is the stage I am now at. Obviously this still has to be sanded down and painted then it will be complete. After this is complete I will begin building the air vent piece. I still have three weeks left and so far I believe my work is on target.
This photograph gave me an idea of how it may look along a wall. I am also aware that the gallery wall is alot bigger so I had to seriously consider the size of the door.
In my first build I made a few minor mistakes but I want my final piece to look top quality so I decided to build it again. I screwed all of the frame together and then the next stage was to attatch the door using hinges. Once I had done this I need to find the correct source of light to do the required job.
As already explained I need a strong ray of light coming from behind the door. I managed to get a set of three LED lights powerful enough to give of the right amount of light and also longer lasting. I had previously experienced that battery operated lights were not appropriate for many reasons.
This is my door with the mains powered lights, they are actually cabinet lights. This looks much alot better and more believable. I am very happy with how this has resulted, this is how I aimed it to look. I am aware that the gallery won't be as dark as this but I have tested these light in other conditions and they work well. This is the stage I am now at. Obviously this still has to be sanded down and painted then it will be complete. After this is complete I will begin building the air vent piece. I still have three weeks left and so far I believe my work is on target.
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Escape!
world to be discovered, a lifeline and guide to many corridors in life and theoretically the idea of a more utopian reality. The practice I pursue is to offer assurance that you might find yourself travelling down endless corridors but you‘ll never know what‘s right around the corner. Also I aim for people to realise that its not the appearance but what’s inside which matters. It is for my audience to determine what lies behind my door, I hope for it to ask questions of people and also offer them a mental escape. In my work I want people to believe in what they see; I want people to have faith in the images and instillations that I present.
I plan to make a large installation in the gallery. I’m looking to create a site specific piece of art to express my personal feelings, reflecting this to my audience and connecting with them.I will create the illusion of a small doorway along the gallery wall, creating a realistic exit. The door will make it feel like an escape. People should wonder, what’s behind that door? The door will invite people to interact with freely and for audience interaction purposes have a lock with several keys available to unlock it. Also I’ve looked at the possibility of producing a smaller installation; similarly creating an illusion, however this time I would make an air vent. It would be positioned high on one of the gallery walls. I would also place step ladders near the vent to create visualisations of escape.Front covers of our lives.
 |
| Red House Park, Great Barr, Birmingham. |
My desire is to help people learn the value of opportunity and chance, many elements of life are overlooked and often as humans we underestimate the chances we are given. Everybody takes chances some work out and others don’t, It’s the realisation that another will come along that I stress in my practice. The idea I follow is that one door leads to another. There are always options and various avenues. My practice hopefully spells out opportunity, development and chance. Every fantasy takes you somewhere new, we do not know where we may end up.
Red Tape...
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Influencing Direction- Conclusion.
Once I had designed my sign and had it made, all I had to do was to display it somewhere to see if it worked, too see if it would influence people's direction. Firstly with my cardboard designs I experimented and put them in various places to have an idea of what may work and what wouldn't. Once I had experimented for a while I got the real sign and started to use that instead.
I began to using the sign down sandwell valley which is local to my house. I thought that it would be a good starting point where people would see my sign. It turned out that when I took my sign and displayed it there were virtually no people around I couldn't create my work. I came up with the obvious conclusion that it needed to be somewhere which was busier and where more people would interact with it. I thought of a few ideas in the public where I could put it, for instance shop windows, road signs and car parks. Some of the ideas I had to scrap because either they were illegal but more seriously dangerous, for example covering up important road instructions. The idea I deemed to be the best was to place my sign near a car park pay meter, somewhere unavoidable for its users. This was a lot more successful in terms of how many people actually seen my sign, it was unmissable. I recorded my findings with photographs as I would be recording people secretly and taking photo's is quicker and more convienient than video. I was aware that I would probably be approached if I was caught video recording people. I took my photographs from my car which was parked the ideal position.
After about two minutes I first saw interaction with my sign. A man seemingly stared at my sign confused as to what it meant. About Five minutes later a woman approached the pay meter. She also stood and looked at the sign bemusingly, and another woman followed after with the same response. I had noticed their confusement but all three still continued to buy tickets. Prehaps because of the proposed fine for not having a ticket. I had interesting results but to my annoyance my experiment was cut short because of a ticket inspector. I had to quickly retrieve my sign as I did not want it to be conviscated. I was also aware of the possibility that what I was doing was illegal. A lot of people had passed through the car park but didn't get close enough to it to see. From the three people who viewed my sign I learnt that from an order point of view it did not work but it did have a physcological affect on its viewers and did slightly affect their movement, all be it by a few yards. It did not go ignored. I was hoping as a bonus it would affect their desision but it was always ambitious considering the fine they would have to deal with. Im happy with this experiment and I achieved what I wanted, I will be looking to extend this work futher in the future because I think it can become bigger.
I began to using the sign down sandwell valley which is local to my house. I thought that it would be a good starting point where people would see my sign. It turned out that when I took my sign and displayed it there were virtually no people around I couldn't create my work. I came up with the obvious conclusion that it needed to be somewhere which was busier and where more people would interact with it. I thought of a few ideas in the public where I could put it, for instance shop windows, road signs and car parks. Some of the ideas I had to scrap because either they were illegal but more seriously dangerous, for example covering up important road instructions. The idea I deemed to be the best was to place my sign near a car park pay meter, somewhere unavoidable for its users. This was a lot more successful in terms of how many people actually seen my sign, it was unmissable. I recorded my findings with photographs as I would be recording people secretly and taking photo's is quicker and more convienient than video. I was aware that I would probably be approached if I was caught video recording people. I took my photographs from my car which was parked the ideal position.
After about two minutes I first saw interaction with my sign. A man seemingly stared at my sign confused as to what it meant. About Five minutes later a woman approached the pay meter. She also stood and looked at the sign bemusingly, and another woman followed after with the same response. I had noticed their confusement but all three still continued to buy tickets. Prehaps because of the proposed fine for not having a ticket. I had interesting results but to my annoyance my experiment was cut short because of a ticket inspector. I had to quickly retrieve my sign as I did not want it to be conviscated. I was also aware of the possibility that what I was doing was illegal. A lot of people had passed through the car park but didn't get close enough to it to see. From the three people who viewed my sign I learnt that from an order point of view it did not work but it did have a physcological affect on its viewers and did slightly affect their movement, all be it by a few yards. It did not go ignored. I was hoping as a bonus it would affect their desision but it was always ambitious considering the fine they would have to deal with. Im happy with this experiment and I achieved what I wanted, I will be looking to extend this work futher in the future because I think it can become bigger.
Sunday, 2 January 2011
Presentation.
This presentation will be about my current influences in the world of art and what inspires me and my own personal practice. I will be looking at whose work has been pivital and inspirational towards me creating my own project and the work that's influenced them. I shall explain the concepts driving my work forward and who's also explored these conceptural areas. I like to understand the concepts and theories behind things, how things have been done and why? I would like to focus a large part of my presentation on a few particular works by certain practitioners who i've taken an interest towards. I will also evaluate how art has evolved throughout the recent times and how we view art as a whole today.
At the moment i'm interested in the work of MTAA (M.River and T.Whid Art associates.) MTAA was founded in 1996. It's their '1 year performance video' that im particualarly interested in. The performance video is portraying a the process of a simple net diagram (1997).
I see MTAA's performance work as an ironic link to the work I have been making on my previous project. I've been trying to find uses for humans wastage however MTAA are moving in the other direction creating and exploring new ways to create art. They are using the modern technology available to create a new medium of work in today's age. "1 year performance video" caught my eye whilst researching but what also interests me is the idea that this evolved from. Hsieh's "one year performance" (1978-1979) also known as "The Cage Piece." MTAA replicate Hsieh's performance, adapting it to the internet age.
http://www.turbulence.org/Works/1year/performancevideo.php
The performance is a statement about how human activity and life experiences are being replaced by computer's. Similar to my "Between these four walls" it defines new media's ability to manipulate our perceptions of time, make us believe that what we see is always the truth and more so relevant with my work, how modern technology has a huge amount of interference with our private lives.
I came across these signs a while ago. They are created by hundreds of artists from all around the world. They are scattered all around the city of Lyon in France. I like the irony that some of them portray. They are almost the voices of people that otherwise cannot be heard. Similar to my sign they look real enough to make people notice them. I can imagine the reactions these signs have provoked, there's a good sense of humour about the project and I would have loved to have been involved. I drew inspiration from this huge project whilst practising my own work.
These signs give off all sorts of different signals, it would have been interesting to see peoples responses. I think art has definately become more public, you see art everywhere now and alot more people are involved with it. I think this project in Lyon is a great example of people joining forces to create something brillia
Mark Wallinger is an example of an artist who uses alot of external issues that he is passionate about to create his work. He's an artist im familiar with and I thought it would be good to show his work. His performance piece "Sleeper" represents the cold war and the separation between Germany around that time. He’s almost walking down the middle of the gallery which is emphasising separation and a divide between the country. I found this performance fascinating for many reasons. He actually did this work in the Neue National gallery (Berlin) which is hugely ironic as most of the cold war took place in Germany. He’s discuises himself as a bear. He stresses that the bear is neither scary nor approachable to kids or adults and that at certain times of the night when he walks round nobody takes any notice.
Personally I think that it’s to do with how in the cold war so many people were forgotten and how many people died. And the fact that nobody even cared to notice. The word FORGOTTEN is very important because it means no memory, which is why I think he chose the gallery to be empty. I believe it’s a huge metaphor towards the cold war, with irony but also Wallinger’s personal hurt. I understand the importance of the polital issues in his works; they are very important and influential to him.
My project has been very rewarding so far, i,ve learned many things I did not know and discovered some great artists who have inspired me along the way with my work. Also i've learnt more about myself and the way I work, performance art has been a challege for me but i've enjoyed it.
I see MTAA's performance work as an ironic link to the work I have been making on my previous project. I've been trying to find uses for humans wastage however MTAA are moving in the other direction creating and exploring new ways to create art. They are using the modern technology available to create a new medium of work in today's age. "1 year performance video" caught my eye whilst researching but what also interests me is the idea that this evolved from. Hsieh's "one year performance" (1978-1979) also known as "The Cage Piece." MTAA replicate Hsieh's performance, adapting it to the internet age.
http://www.turbulence.org/Works/1year/performancevideo.php
Alike with my performance, Hsieh spent a period of time confined in a space, however he spent an entire year living within a cage. He documented himself throughout this time with photographs. My performance was alot shorter but both in-fact were psychological tests of the human's strength and state of mind. I think I achieved similar findings to Hsieh but Hsieh pushed the boundaries alot futher than I did.
I came across these signs a while ago. They are created by hundreds of artists from all around the world. They are scattered all around the city of Lyon in France. I like the irony that some of them portray. They are almost the voices of people that otherwise cannot be heard. Similar to my sign they look real enough to make people notice them. I can imagine the reactions these signs have provoked, there's a good sense of humour about the project and I would have loved to have been involved. I drew inspiration from this huge project whilst practising my own work.
These signs give off all sorts of different signals, it would have been interesting to see peoples responses. I think art has definately become more public, you see art everywhere now and alot more people are involved with it. I think this project in Lyon is a great example of people joining forces to create something brillia
I find the use of text interesting, pictures and images speak a hundred words so people can make up their own beliefs of what it means, but when text is involved it really makes people think because you feel the need to know what it means. This is the reason I put text on my sign.
Personally I think that it’s to do with how in the cold war so many people were forgotten and how many people died. And the fact that nobody even cared to notice. The word FORGOTTEN is very important because it means no memory, which is why I think he chose the gallery to be empty. I believe it’s a huge metaphor towards the cold war, with irony but also Wallinger’s personal hurt. I understand the importance of the polital issues in his works; they are very important and influential to him.
My project has been very rewarding so far, i,ve learned many things I did not know and discovered some great artists who have inspired me along the way with my work. Also i've learnt more about myself and the way I work, performance art has been a challege for me but i've enjoyed it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)