I have broken up from uni, and now I have a couple of months of hedonism ahead. This will be my last blog update for at least a month.
So far, I have had a series of trips out with various friends. On Friday I spent the day with Pat visiting the RIBA exhibition on the London Development Plan. On Saturday I met up with Esther and Erica and we had a lovely day at the seaside at Frinton. On Sunday I met up with Anita and went to the Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Waldon and looked at Ravilious and Bawden's watercolours and prints.
Tomorrow Jim and I leave by train with our bikes to travel to Penzance. We aim to cycle Lands End to John O'Groats, taking about a month to do so. If successful it will be a massive achievement for me. I've done 12 day cycling tours before, but this will be much longer than anything else I have done. We are mostly staying in B&B, but have a tent with us in case we cannot find accommodation in the more rural stretches in Scotland. It is the first time I have had panniers - previously Jim has carried it all! My 2 panniers weigh c7lb each. I am a bit of a lardy lump, and I am hoping to burn quite a lot of fat on the journey, so that by the end, I might (just might!) have "lost the luggage" overall! Jim is still carrying most of the load - 10lbs for the tent and his 4 panniers total 30lbs. If you want to follow the touring blog, try: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/11892 or go to the crazyguyonabike website and use the site search engine to find MacTaggart.
Monday 27 May 2013
Friday 24 May 2013
Thought provoking art class
Yesterday I went to art class at Vanda's and we had a lovely day working on the theme of memory.
First we drew an object (or landscape) in pencil. I drew a bottle of Quink ink. Vanda copied all our drawings. Then we were told to rub it out with an eraser. Part of me was reluctant to destroy what I had spent 15 minutes carefully drawing, but the other part of me said "get on with it - you are here to learn". So I hammered into it with a putty rubber, and what was left was a faded image, that showed in detail where I had pressed a bit harder. It created a wonderful image of a "memory" of an ink bottle. And it was a better drawing than the original!
Then we had to draw an image using a biro pressed heavily on thin paper, resting on a softer paper. This left an embossed image of the drawing. We rubbed into the embossing with graphite on the end of our fingers so the embossing became clear. Vanda tore up the biro drawings, and the embossing became the memory of the drawing. Lovely.
The last exercise of the morning was to look at the quink bottle for 15 minutes, then remove the object, and draw what we could remember from the observation (not what we thought it looked like! I managed a lot of the darkest bits, but completely forgot the streaky bits where the ink was draining down the inside of the bottle.
After lunch I drew the quink bottle in charcoal and rubbed it away (not very successful) and Vanda suggested drawing on top of it so the faded image became the memory. I then created a multiple layered drawing using charcoal, charcoal rag, pencil, fine liner and pen & ink. This was too busy, although individually they were quite good. They might have worked well as a two layered drawing but 7 layers was too much! However when little areas were isolated, they worked very well, and might have been useful to cut out little selections to incorporate into another drawing, thereby forming fragments of memory.
During the day Vanda pulled me on my use of the term "middle age, middle class women". I have big issues with such women. So last night I had a one hour argument with myself about why I have such issues. Basically I have identified behaviours that I dislike from individuals I know, where what they have in common is that they are middle age, middle class women, although I can see these behaviours are not exclusive to this group. Hmmm. How's that for prejudice!! However, to elaborate on my views: it centres around attitudes to money, self importance and to narrow mindedness. When I was a shift worker, I belonged to a gym (expensive!) and did classes at varied times of day. Other attenders (entirely women) at the morning classes, were often high maintenance, stay at home, women who spent a lot of time and money on clothes, make-up, nails, hair, and handbags and who seemed to have a lot of conversations about "we must do lunch" or where they bought their latest fashion accessory. They seem to spend a lot of time "shopping", and what is important is that everything matches, or is colour co-ordinated. I also noted such women often drove the big 4x4 cars, parked in the disabled parking bays, and rushed into Sweatbox classes, while the arthritic lady going to the yoga who walked with a stick, had to walk across the car park having parked in an ordinary available space. I also listened to their conversations about topical issues such as immigration and politics, and thought that they had rarely had a conversation with or listened to the points of view of people who are different to them. I accept that my views will be different from theirs, partly because although I live in a largely white area (could not afford to live in London), I worked in a very diverse area where my colleagues and staff were black/white, straight/gay, old/young, men/women, manual/office workers, native born/migrants, multiple faiths. As shift workers, you had time on off-peak shifts to talk to each other about all sorts of things. I am incredibly grateful that the diversity of my workplace enlarged my mindset and expanded my life experience. However it has meant I am disdainful of people who cannot see that there are many right answers (ie not just your own), depending on your life experience. And the people I meet who fuel my prejudice, seem to be middle age, middle class women - affluent from other people's money, living in a narrow environment, spending a lot of time and money thinking about themselves as superior to others.
This led on to another conversation about the difficulties tutors are having in the higher education system of today, where young people (in particular) are struggling with the self directed learning style of UK universities. They struggle with a problem, and expect to be told the answer by the tutor. As a mature student, I have struggled with this myself. But Vanda provided an enlightening insight, by saying that where Government targets have measured school performances, many children are coached through SATS by private tuition, often from age 5. This means they are used to there being "one right answer" and having an adult coach them on a one-to-one basis, providing the answers all the way through, to jump through hoops "to a high standard"! As I have no children, I have no experience of the schools system, and I had not expected people to be educated with the concept of "one right answer". I have 30 years work experience in a diverse community, where the accommodation of "many right answers" was the norm. Maybe it's me who is out of step! Hmm! Now there's a shock!
First we drew an object (or landscape) in pencil. I drew a bottle of Quink ink. Vanda copied all our drawings. Then we were told to rub it out with an eraser. Part of me was reluctant to destroy what I had spent 15 minutes carefully drawing, but the other part of me said "get on with it - you are here to learn". So I hammered into it with a putty rubber, and what was left was a faded image, that showed in detail where I had pressed a bit harder. It created a wonderful image of a "memory" of an ink bottle. And it was a better drawing than the original!
Then we had to draw an image using a biro pressed heavily on thin paper, resting on a softer paper. This left an embossed image of the drawing. We rubbed into the embossing with graphite on the end of our fingers so the embossing became clear. Vanda tore up the biro drawings, and the embossing became the memory of the drawing. Lovely.
The last exercise of the morning was to look at the quink bottle for 15 minutes, then remove the object, and draw what we could remember from the observation (not what we thought it looked like! I managed a lot of the darkest bits, but completely forgot the streaky bits where the ink was draining down the inside of the bottle.
After lunch I drew the quink bottle in charcoal and rubbed it away (not very successful) and Vanda suggested drawing on top of it so the faded image became the memory. I then created a multiple layered drawing using charcoal, charcoal rag, pencil, fine liner and pen & ink. This was too busy, although individually they were quite good. They might have worked well as a two layered drawing but 7 layers was too much! However when little areas were isolated, they worked very well, and might have been useful to cut out little selections to incorporate into another drawing, thereby forming fragments of memory.
During the day Vanda pulled me on my use of the term "middle age, middle class women". I have big issues with such women. So last night I had a one hour argument with myself about why I have such issues. Basically I have identified behaviours that I dislike from individuals I know, where what they have in common is that they are middle age, middle class women, although I can see these behaviours are not exclusive to this group. Hmmm. How's that for prejudice!! However, to elaborate on my views: it centres around attitudes to money, self importance and to narrow mindedness. When I was a shift worker, I belonged to a gym (expensive!) and did classes at varied times of day. Other attenders (entirely women) at the morning classes, were often high maintenance, stay at home, women who spent a lot of time and money on clothes, make-up, nails, hair, and handbags and who seemed to have a lot of conversations about "we must do lunch" or where they bought their latest fashion accessory. They seem to spend a lot of time "shopping", and what is important is that everything matches, or is colour co-ordinated. I also noted such women often drove the big 4x4 cars, parked in the disabled parking bays, and rushed into Sweatbox classes, while the arthritic lady going to the yoga who walked with a stick, had to walk across the car park having parked in an ordinary available space. I also listened to their conversations about topical issues such as immigration and politics, and thought that they had rarely had a conversation with or listened to the points of view of people who are different to them. I accept that my views will be different from theirs, partly because although I live in a largely white area (could not afford to live in London), I worked in a very diverse area where my colleagues and staff were black/white, straight/gay, old/young, men/women, manual/office workers, native born/migrants, multiple faiths. As shift workers, you had time on off-peak shifts to talk to each other about all sorts of things. I am incredibly grateful that the diversity of my workplace enlarged my mindset and expanded my life experience. However it has meant I am disdainful of people who cannot see that there are many right answers (ie not just your own), depending on your life experience. And the people I meet who fuel my prejudice, seem to be middle age, middle class women - affluent from other people's money, living in a narrow environment, spending a lot of time and money thinking about themselves as superior to others.
This led on to another conversation about the difficulties tutors are having in the higher education system of today, where young people (in particular) are struggling with the self directed learning style of UK universities. They struggle with a problem, and expect to be told the answer by the tutor. As a mature student, I have struggled with this myself. But Vanda provided an enlightening insight, by saying that where Government targets have measured school performances, many children are coached through SATS by private tuition, often from age 5. This means they are used to there being "one right answer" and having an adult coach them on a one-to-one basis, providing the answers all the way through, to jump through hoops "to a high standard"! As I have no children, I have no experience of the schools system, and I had not expected people to be educated with the concept of "one right answer". I have 30 years work experience in a diverse community, where the accommodation of "many right answers" was the norm. Maybe it's me who is out of step! Hmm! Now there's a shock!
Thursday 23 May 2013
William Morris Gallery exhibitions
Jim and I went to the William Morris Gallery yesterday to see an exhibition by a Goldsmith's graduate, David Mabbs, which was a display of political slogans about the education cuts.
They were written in different typefaces which associated them with specific campaigns/subjects. For example the "Stop the war" phrase was stencilled using a typeface that I think is associated with the anti-nuclear campaigns. This made me think about a recent lecture where it was said that typefaces were a strong way of subliminal messaging. While I think this may be true, and the messages on display reminded me of something, I can't say what it was that they reminded of. Maybe the intended messages were lost on me, but I would have thought they would resonate with my age group more than younger ones, because I have been around longer and should have seen all the different typefaces before!
The campaign slogans were all framed in uniform square frames, covered in Morris & Co traditional designs. This was meant to comment on William Morris's socialist philosophy, in that the maker believed Morris would have supported the education protests, but also notes that Morris products were artisan produced and therefore very, very expensive so only appeared in the wealthiest middle class/aristocratic homes, yet are now cheaply machine produced and appear in homes with conservative values! An interesting exhibition.
This made me think about how a university graduate has managed to get his work displayed in a well known gallery - his work makes a contemporary comment about a traditional material - and therefore would be suitable for the William Morris Gallery to want to display it in their environment. The product fits a specific environment. Food for thought.
I also saw David Bailey's "East End Faces" which is a photographic exhibition of the East End in the 1960s - a world that no longer exists. There were images of run-down and derelict homes in war-bombed slum areas between 1961-68, and images of the run-down Rio nightclub with local residents (black and white) - partying with high spirits in a slum area. A quote of Baileys "It takes a log of imagination to be a good photographer ... It takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary". The images of Brick Lane (in Aldgate East where I used to work) showed the awfulness of the slum. Now is is a tourist area with lots of excellent Indian restaurants run by the Bangladeshi community in that area. Thank goodness it has rejuvenated.
They were written in different typefaces which associated them with specific campaigns/subjects. For example the "Stop the war" phrase was stencilled using a typeface that I think is associated with the anti-nuclear campaigns. This made me think about a recent lecture where it was said that typefaces were a strong way of subliminal messaging. While I think this may be true, and the messages on display reminded me of something, I can't say what it was that they reminded of. Maybe the intended messages were lost on me, but I would have thought they would resonate with my age group more than younger ones, because I have been around longer and should have seen all the different typefaces before!
The campaign slogans were all framed in uniform square frames, covered in Morris & Co traditional designs. This was meant to comment on William Morris's socialist philosophy, in that the maker believed Morris would have supported the education protests, but also notes that Morris products were artisan produced and therefore very, very expensive so only appeared in the wealthiest middle class/aristocratic homes, yet are now cheaply machine produced and appear in homes with conservative values! An interesting exhibition.
This made me think about how a university graduate has managed to get his work displayed in a well known gallery - his work makes a contemporary comment about a traditional material - and therefore would be suitable for the William Morris Gallery to want to display it in their environment. The product fits a specific environment. Food for thought.
I also saw David Bailey's "East End Faces" which is a photographic exhibition of the East End in the 1960s - a world that no longer exists. There were images of run-down and derelict homes in war-bombed slum areas between 1961-68, and images of the run-down Rio nightclub with local residents (black and white) - partying with high spirits in a slum area. A quote of Baileys "It takes a log of imagination to be a good photographer ... It takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary". The images of Brick Lane (in Aldgate East where I used to work) showed the awfulness of the slum. Now is is a tourist area with lots of excellent Indian restaurants run by the Bangladeshi community in that area. Thank goodness it has rejuvenated.
Wednesday 22 May 2013
Group critique of this year's degree show
Yesterday we had a really valuable session with our tutor, Vanda, where we critiqued the degree show of this year's graduates from the Contemporary Applied Art course. We had the opportunity to see the show, staged with all the supporting material, prior to it being put on public view.
Key learning points were:
- Don't be contrained by the domestic scale - try out huge/tiny versions too
- Make it contemporary - reflect the age we are in
- Don't make similar drapes of repeat pattern. One large draped piece, many samples in a lovely book and some samples made up into interesting things would be better.
- Stage in a contemporary way - ie contemporary china should be displayed on contemporary furniture (not retro fashion) or on a plinth
- Don't draw the whole object - give enough to represent it, but leave bits out
- Avoid turning into a commercial object - push boundaries - this is a degree show to demonstrate potential, not a department store selling stuff
- Stage samples as an imaginatively made object
- Pretty is not enough - must have a meaty concept
- Use artist statements to convey the message/concept
- Work out your staging to promote work to best effect. Use large photos to demonstrate the domestic application if nec. Don't stage the domestic application.
- Digital photo frames add to contemporary feel.
- Photo suspended in frame with no glass works well
- Don't be frightened of white space. If you have too much space (!) leave it clear.
- Don't put barriers (cabinets) between viewer and work.
- Match imagery to cloth - tough images/tough cloth; delicate images/delicate cloth
- Magnetic hooks are good to suspend cloth from ceiling. Each hook supports 10kg(!). They take a long time to order so good planning required.
- Cloth for a Contemporary degree should not be suspended by a wooden dowel rod. Consider stitched card ....? (Need to look at Applied Art galleries for answers here).
- Staggered depth of multiple hangings works well.
- Large white textile work needs a coloured background to be seen clearly. It is ok to paint a wall/broad stripe of colour to enhance your work. You can always paint the wall white again afterwards.
- Find a modern book in your discipline that displays your type of art well, and use their ideas for staging and mounting.
Generally the simpler the layout, the better the products worked. I am going to really struggle with getting the staging to be simple. I thought about my work on display for my assessment, which was in another room, and I just was not in the league of the best displays at the Degree Show. But it made me get out a digital photo frame that I had as a birthday present 7 years ago, and work out its functions, so I can use it at my degree show next year. This is a good example of how to make your staging feel contemporary.
Key learning points were:
- Don't be contrained by the domestic scale - try out huge/tiny versions too
- Make it contemporary - reflect the age we are in
- Don't make similar drapes of repeat pattern. One large draped piece, many samples in a lovely book and some samples made up into interesting things would be better.
- Stage in a contemporary way - ie contemporary china should be displayed on contemporary furniture (not retro fashion) or on a plinth
- Don't draw the whole object - give enough to represent it, but leave bits out
- Avoid turning into a commercial object - push boundaries - this is a degree show to demonstrate potential, not a department store selling stuff
- Stage samples as an imaginatively made object
- Pretty is not enough - must have a meaty concept
- Use artist statements to convey the message/concept
- Work out your staging to promote work to best effect. Use large photos to demonstrate the domestic application if nec. Don't stage the domestic application.
- Digital photo frames add to contemporary feel.
- Photo suspended in frame with no glass works well
- Don't be frightened of white space. If you have too much space (!) leave it clear.
- Don't put barriers (cabinets) between viewer and work.
- Match imagery to cloth - tough images/tough cloth; delicate images/delicate cloth
- Magnetic hooks are good to suspend cloth from ceiling. Each hook supports 10kg(!). They take a long time to order so good planning required.
- Cloth for a Contemporary degree should not be suspended by a wooden dowel rod. Consider stitched card ....? (Need to look at Applied Art galleries for answers here).
- Staggered depth of multiple hangings works well.
- Large white textile work needs a coloured background to be seen clearly. It is ok to paint a wall/broad stripe of colour to enhance your work. You can always paint the wall white again afterwards.
- Find a modern book in your discipline that displays your type of art well, and use their ideas for staging and mounting.
Generally the simpler the layout, the better the products worked. I am going to really struggle with getting the staging to be simple. I thought about my work on display for my assessment, which was in another room, and I just was not in the league of the best displays at the Degree Show. But it made me get out a digital photo frame that I had as a birthday present 7 years ago, and work out its functions, so I can use it at my degree show next year. This is a good example of how to make your staging feel contemporary.
Sunday 19 May 2013
Propaganda exhibition at the British Library
There is a new exhibition at the British Library "Propaganda - the Power of Persuasion". This was a very interesting exhibition which showed the connection between propaganda and marketing. Propaganda got a bad name for itself because of how (many) Governments communicated messages in wartime. However progaganda comes from the same root as propagate (ie to increase an object by taking small cuttings). Whereas propaganda is to spread an opinion or principles in order to change or reform and was originally used in the context of the Catholic church.
The exhibition showed how propaganda could be used for positive or negative effect and had examples from an incredible diversity of countries (east and west), governments (left wing and right wing), education system and purposes. In common understanding, I think negative information, particularly spread by Governments, is seen as propaganda, whereas positive information, spread by commerce, is seen as public relations (even if the positive is covering up negatives or just putting spin on a subject).
Some interesting quotes were:
"the art of propaganda is not telling lie but rather seeking the truth you require, and giving it mixed up with some truths the audience wants to hear" (how true is that!)
Richard Crossman, 1907-1974
British politician and author
"The propagandist is a man who canalises an already existing stream. In a land where there is no water, he digs in vain."
Aldous Huxley, 1984-1963
British Author
"Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state".
Noam Chomsky b1928
US university lecturer
Propaganda was targetted at all age groups, which in some ways was quite disturbing. Some of the exhibits were quite worthy like the Tufty club and Green Cross Code man, but there was also a German maths book from 1940 that indoctrinated the young with Nazi idealogy by making maths from "how much does it cost to look after the heredity unfit? The Nazis were into eugenics where they believed you should breed out imperfections, and therefore sterilisation and murder of selected groups was acceptable! By putting these questions into the education system, it validated their actions in the minds of children. So the exhibition showed the benevolent and scary side of propaganda.
The exhibition said there were seven categories of propaganda: glittering generalities; transfer; name calling; cardstacking; testimonial; plain folks and bandwagon. This led me to think about my "Yokes" artwork. I think my work would fit with testimonial, because it bears witness to women's work, and plain folks because it appeals to the ordinary and undervalued people. I hope it is seen as positive. I suspect my work would not be seen as a propaganda, but might be seen as public relations.
It was a very interesting exhibition. Definitely one for the thinking person!
The exhibition showed how propaganda could be used for positive or negative effect and had examples from an incredible diversity of countries (east and west), governments (left wing and right wing), education system and purposes. In common understanding, I think negative information, particularly spread by Governments, is seen as propaganda, whereas positive information, spread by commerce, is seen as public relations (even if the positive is covering up negatives or just putting spin on a subject).
Some interesting quotes were:
"the art of propaganda is not telling lie but rather seeking the truth you require, and giving it mixed up with some truths the audience wants to hear" (how true is that!)
Richard Crossman, 1907-1974
British politician and author
"The propagandist is a man who canalises an already existing stream. In a land where there is no water, he digs in vain."
Aldous Huxley, 1984-1963
British Author
"Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state".
Noam Chomsky b1928
US university lecturer
Propaganda was targetted at all age groups, which in some ways was quite disturbing. Some of the exhibits were quite worthy like the Tufty club and Green Cross Code man, but there was also a German maths book from 1940 that indoctrinated the young with Nazi idealogy by making maths from "how much does it cost to look after the heredity unfit? The Nazis were into eugenics where they believed you should breed out imperfections, and therefore sterilisation and murder of selected groups was acceptable! By putting these questions into the education system, it validated their actions in the minds of children. So the exhibition showed the benevolent and scary side of propaganda.
The exhibition said there were seven categories of propaganda: glittering generalities; transfer; name calling; cardstacking; testimonial; plain folks and bandwagon. This led me to think about my "Yokes" artwork. I think my work would fit with testimonial, because it bears witness to women's work, and plain folks because it appeals to the ordinary and undervalued people. I hope it is seen as positive. I suspect my work would not be seen as a propaganda, but might be seen as public relations.
It was a very interesting exhibition. Definitely one for the thinking person!
Staging the end of year review
On Friday I was staging my end of year show, along with the 3rd years who were staging their degree show.
It never ceases to amaze me how I continue to learn different things, despite having done this for 4 years now. I had privileged my "yokes" piece by hanging it on a separate wall from the rest of my work. I displayed my year's work by setting it out in a chronology along one wall. This showed that a lot of the meaningful development and drawing took place towards the end of the year.
Having hung "Yokes" at the Parndon Mill exhibition, I thought I knew how best to hang it. Wrong! At Parndon, I realised that for the hangers to sit well on a rail, I needed a round rail (not square at at Parndon). So for my review, I found a 6' round dowel, painted it white, and bought white cup hooks to support it, which would meld into the white wall. I trialled the positioning on the wall with brightly coloured map tacks (which looked amateurish). Then I screwed the cuphooks into the wall, inserted the dowel and hanged the yokes on wooden hangers. The white dowel looked terrible. It was slightly warped, so not absolutely straight, and a pronounced shadow formed beneath the rail. It would have looked much better if I had hung it using clear plastic map tacks. I left it as it was, because removing the cup hooks would have left visible marks, and I had no clear map tacks. But this is the stuff you only learn by experience.
I went to the studio where this week the 3rd years have been staging their work. This was the final day of staging, and only a couple of people had completed their work. I decided that when I stage my final degree show next year, I will aim to complete it early. This was the last day, and people were getting stressed. One person had requested special electrics to plug in an Ipad that showed rotating photos of the work in progress. The electrics had not been put in, and as the work was on an island stand, a hasty botch fix was needed to get the electricity from the wall to the stand. At about 2pm, students were still touching up the walls with paint while work was being positioned(!). I looked at a couple of pieces of framed embroidery and was puzzled that the work had not been properly ironed prior to being mounted. It seems odd to put in all the development and making time, and spend a lot of time framing and staging the work, but not to realise the creases will detract from the finished product. However it was good to see that two people who had prime sites at the studio entrance, had mounted and displayed their work to best effect. One was about fairy tales, stranger danger and application to fans, and another about knife crime for application to teenage clothing. Both were strong gutsy themes and I expect them to get a good grade at assessment.
I'm looking forward to going to see the completed show next week.
It never ceases to amaze me how I continue to learn different things, despite having done this for 4 years now. I had privileged my "yokes" piece by hanging it on a separate wall from the rest of my work. I displayed my year's work by setting it out in a chronology along one wall. This showed that a lot of the meaningful development and drawing took place towards the end of the year.
Having hung "Yokes" at the Parndon Mill exhibition, I thought I knew how best to hang it. Wrong! At Parndon, I realised that for the hangers to sit well on a rail, I needed a round rail (not square at at Parndon). So for my review, I found a 6' round dowel, painted it white, and bought white cup hooks to support it, which would meld into the white wall. I trialled the positioning on the wall with brightly coloured map tacks (which looked amateurish). Then I screwed the cuphooks into the wall, inserted the dowel and hanged the yokes on wooden hangers. The white dowel looked terrible. It was slightly warped, so not absolutely straight, and a pronounced shadow formed beneath the rail. It would have looked much better if I had hung it using clear plastic map tacks. I left it as it was, because removing the cup hooks would have left visible marks, and I had no clear map tacks. But this is the stuff you only learn by experience.
I went to the studio where this week the 3rd years have been staging their work. This was the final day of staging, and only a couple of people had completed their work. I decided that when I stage my final degree show next year, I will aim to complete it early. This was the last day, and people were getting stressed. One person had requested special electrics to plug in an Ipad that showed rotating photos of the work in progress. The electrics had not been put in, and as the work was on an island stand, a hasty botch fix was needed to get the electricity from the wall to the stand. At about 2pm, students were still touching up the walls with paint while work was being positioned(!). I looked at a couple of pieces of framed embroidery and was puzzled that the work had not been properly ironed prior to being mounted. It seems odd to put in all the development and making time, and spend a lot of time framing and staging the work, but not to realise the creases will detract from the finished product. However it was good to see that two people who had prime sites at the studio entrance, had mounted and displayed their work to best effect. One was about fairy tales, stranger danger and application to fans, and another about knife crime for application to teenage clothing. Both were strong gutsy themes and I expect them to get a good grade at assessment.
I'm looking forward to going to see the completed show next week.
Wednesday 15 May 2013
Feeling thoroughly miserable
I am having my teeth straightened. I had the bottom brace put on this morning and now I feel thoroughly miserable.
I have my end of year review tomorrow. Most of my work is packed in the car. I have made up a maquette of a padded cell - this was an idea I came up with when I was thinking about cushions and linings, and trying to push the boundaries with them. Sometimes with housework, you feel like bashing your head against a brick wall because of the never-ending nature of the tasks. So what would you need? A cushioned wall of course! It also makes me think about the difference between inside and outside. What is a lining and what is on the outside - is wallpaper on the outside because it faces the occupant, or is it a lining because it is on the inside of the house walls?
I got the results from my Enterprise and Employability module - 65%. This is good enough. I found some parts very difficult because it is about detail consciousness. The details of what you put in an artist statement, the imagery you use, your font choice, the positioning on the page, and the size of the photographs. However, I have applied the feedback to my artist statement for the Degree Planning module to be assessed tomorrow and we will see whether it makes any difference. There is an awful lot of work to be assessed.
Let's hope my teeth don't make me feel like a wet rag!
I have my end of year review tomorrow. Most of my work is packed in the car. I have made up a maquette of a padded cell - this was an idea I came up with when I was thinking about cushions and linings, and trying to push the boundaries with them. Sometimes with housework, you feel like bashing your head against a brick wall because of the never-ending nature of the tasks. So what would you need? A cushioned wall of course! It also makes me think about the difference between inside and outside. What is a lining and what is on the outside - is wallpaper on the outside because it faces the occupant, or is it a lining because it is on the inside of the house walls?
I got the results from my Enterprise and Employability module - 65%. This is good enough. I found some parts very difficult because it is about detail consciousness. The details of what you put in an artist statement, the imagery you use, your font choice, the positioning on the page, and the size of the photographs. However, I have applied the feedback to my artist statement for the Degree Planning module to be assessed tomorrow and we will see whether it makes any difference. There is an awful lot of work to be assessed.
Let's hope my teeth don't make me feel like a wet rag!
Thursday 9 May 2013
Thoughts from the swimming pool no 10
A great swim - I swam 64 lengths, or a mile, or 1600m, depending on your measuring system. Felt strong and powerful.
I am planning to go to William Morris Gallery to see a Goldsmith's Exhibition about political slogans regarding tuition fees. I was thinking about how to expand my understanding of what I have seen, how to publicise thought provoking exhibitions and how to maximise the impact of exhibitions on my work. I think it would be a good idea if the class had an ongoing exercise where, whenever anyone went to an exhibition, they came back and did a 5 minute talk to the class about what they enjoyed, what ideas they had come up with in relation to their own work, and how it changed or developed their thinking about their current project. This would fit well with how I use my Exhibitions Sketchbook. I note down the event, date and details, draw something that appeals to me, add a postcard (attached in a different way each time), and add notes of anything that seems significant in relation to my work. So really I have done the prep already.
For example Schwitters made me think about collage; using my old textiles samples as raw material for reuse; the difference between recycling by drawing on pre-used/printed paper and defacing a printed object eg a programme; how materials used can represent a moment in time or the "now" of the making. I would expect the exhibition at William Morris to make me think about how slogans are used; how the message of materials can change (William Morris was a socialist working with very expensive, quality mediums, yet his materials are now mass produced for the middle class home).
Should my thoughts be shared? Yes, I think they should. Will students be interested? Not sure, but if we don't try it, we don't know. I think this exercise might be well suited for inclusion in the Materials and Ideas module, which I think is a first year module.
I am planning to go to William Morris Gallery to see a Goldsmith's Exhibition about political slogans regarding tuition fees. I was thinking about how to expand my understanding of what I have seen, how to publicise thought provoking exhibitions and how to maximise the impact of exhibitions on my work. I think it would be a good idea if the class had an ongoing exercise where, whenever anyone went to an exhibition, they came back and did a 5 minute talk to the class about what they enjoyed, what ideas they had come up with in relation to their own work, and how it changed or developed their thinking about their current project. This would fit well with how I use my Exhibitions Sketchbook. I note down the event, date and details, draw something that appeals to me, add a postcard (attached in a different way each time), and add notes of anything that seems significant in relation to my work. So really I have done the prep already.
For example Schwitters made me think about collage; using my old textiles samples as raw material for reuse; the difference between recycling by drawing on pre-used/printed paper and defacing a printed object eg a programme; how materials used can represent a moment in time or the "now" of the making. I would expect the exhibition at William Morris to make me think about how slogans are used; how the message of materials can change (William Morris was a socialist working with very expensive, quality mediums, yet his materials are now mass produced for the middle class home).
Should my thoughts be shared? Yes, I think they should. Will students be interested? Not sure, but if we don't try it, we don't know. I think this exercise might be well suited for inclusion in the Materials and Ideas module, which I think is a first year module.
Schwitters exhibition at Tate Britain
I went to see the Schwitters exhibition at the Tate. He was a German artist who was forced into exile by the Nazis prior to WWII, because they had labelled his artwork (Merz) as degenerate. He migrated first to Norway, then England when Norway was invaded. He was interned as an enemy alien on the Isle of Man. His work used many found objects, partly because he saw art in the everyday mundane, but also because when interned, the detritus of life was all they had to work with.
He commented "In Merz pictures, the boxtop, playing card and newspaper clippings become surfaces; string, brush stroke and pencil stroke become line; wire netting becomes overpainting or pasted on greaseproof becomes varnish; cotton becomes softness".
To my mind, collage was his forte, although he worked with oils, sculpture and other media, in order to inform his process. I liked the way small fragments of ephemera were carefully selected. A scrap of a Bassetts liquorice allsort box frames the coconut liquorice and aniseed ball jelly sweets to form two heads cuddling. The wrappings from American Red Cross packages, British newspapers, London Transport tickets and old German news cuttings indicate his reality at the time. A good historical representation of his identity at the time. I need to think more about how using the detritus of my "now" represents the time in which I am working. Louise Baldwin's work demonstrates this.
He commented "In Merz pictures, the boxtop, playing card and newspaper clippings become surfaces; string, brush stroke and pencil stroke become line; wire netting becomes overpainting or pasted on greaseproof becomes varnish; cotton becomes softness".
To my mind, collage was his forte, although he worked with oils, sculpture and other media, in order to inform his process. I liked the way small fragments of ephemera were carefully selected. A scrap of a Bassetts liquorice allsort box frames the coconut liquorice and aniseed ball jelly sweets to form two heads cuddling. The wrappings from American Red Cross packages, British newspapers, London Transport tickets and old German news cuttings indicate his reality at the time. A good historical representation of his identity at the time. I need to think more about how using the detritus of my "now" represents the time in which I am working. Louise Baldwin's work demonstrates this.
Sunday 5 May 2013
Working the exhibition
I was allocated to staff the exhibition on Saturday from 1.30-5. For the first hour I was on my own, so I used this time to look at each exhibit in detail, and write down what I made of the work. This was time well spent. I concluded that the jewellery and ceramics on display was generally strong work, but that the textile work was generally weak. This surprises me a bit as we have several textile tutors, only one jewellery tutor, and I am not sure whether there is a tutor for ceramics and glass at all. I know the jewellery and ceramics students have complained about lack of support and that Antje has tried to address this.
Many of the artists statements were ok for first attempts, but many of them had punctuation, and grammatical errors. I think this could be improved if, one person who is good at grammar, proof-read and corrected all of them, prior to another person printing and mounting them all. Beth had done an excellent job of printing and mounting all the artist statements, and had a consistent layout and photos for all students. Some of us (ie me!) had dreadful personal photos, so this needs to be addressed before we exhibit for our final year show.
Having reviewed everyone's work, I made the following comments about my own work. "Artist statement does not explain why "yokes" is the title. Shorter artist statement works better (c100 words) but needs to be refined. Hanging pole should have been round so hangers sit better. No business card. Poor photo on artist statement". I will be addressing all the above points for my final year show!
During the 4 hours I was there, there were only about 6 visitors. I think we need to improve our publicity, consider who we want to visit, consider what is the purpose of the exhibition, and target accordingly. For me, the purpose is to gain experience of setting up an exhibition; publicise the work of the individual artists; publicise the course at UH; and have a good time at the private view - in that order. Therefore it is important to get more people visiting at the weekend, to make it worth staffing it. Otherwise you would just hire the room for the Friday evening for a bit of a jolly, and take everything down immediately. I think we need to identify who is likely to visit on Saturday and Sunday, (potential students and teachers from the local area?) and make sure they are aware of our event. Can we get flyers into local A level art classrooms? Could we get access to data that identifies where students who are local residents, went to school? What about a bit of historical trend analysis?
Many of the artists statements were ok for first attempts, but many of them had punctuation, and grammatical errors. I think this could be improved if, one person who is good at grammar, proof-read and corrected all of them, prior to another person printing and mounting them all. Beth had done an excellent job of printing and mounting all the artist statements, and had a consistent layout and photos for all students. Some of us (ie me!) had dreadful personal photos, so this needs to be addressed before we exhibit for our final year show.
Having reviewed everyone's work, I made the following comments about my own work. "Artist statement does not explain why "yokes" is the title. Shorter artist statement works better (c100 words) but needs to be refined. Hanging pole should have been round so hangers sit better. No business card. Poor photo on artist statement". I will be addressing all the above points for my final year show!
During the 4 hours I was there, there were only about 6 visitors. I think we need to improve our publicity, consider who we want to visit, consider what is the purpose of the exhibition, and target accordingly. For me, the purpose is to gain experience of setting up an exhibition; publicise the work of the individual artists; publicise the course at UH; and have a good time at the private view - in that order. Therefore it is important to get more people visiting at the weekend, to make it worth staffing it. Otherwise you would just hire the room for the Friday evening for a bit of a jolly, and take everything down immediately. I think we need to identify who is likely to visit on Saturday and Sunday, (potential students and teachers from the local area?) and make sure they are aware of our event. Can we get flyers into local A level art classrooms? Could we get access to data that identifies where students who are local residents, went to school? What about a bit of historical trend analysis?
Setting up the Parndon Mill exhibition
On Friday I had a busy day. I drove to uni, received feedback on my essay, loaded the car with exhibits, drove to Parndon Mill, helped set up the exhibition, drove home, drove to Witham, travelled to London, did my evening class, back to Witham and drove home.
Essay feedback: Excellent communication skills; intelligent use of secondary sources; paraphrasing clear and precise. Don't use Oxford English Dictionary for definitions - find better sources. The use of historical sources is well contextualised in a wider debate. Substanital use of Treadaway's thesis is appropriate and well paraphrased. Detailed theoretical debate is matched with interesting examples of contemporary practice. Greater attention to the benefits Cathy has gleaned from this work would have been useful but otherwise this essay is done to an excellent standard.
I was very pleased with this outcome - by the time I had handed it in, I had looked at it so much, that I was not at all sure whether it was any good or not. It is as if I completely lose my critical faculty and self awareness by the end of a long piece of research. This is because I have to work so hard to get the details right, particularly the bibliography, and fiddling about with details makes me exhausted, frustrated and bad tempered! So this feedback made me delighted.
Setting up the exhibition at Parndon Mill was the usual scramble. Textile pieces being ironed, cabinets being cleaned, debates about how to display work to best effect. The students had organised the private view for Friday evening and arranged catering. Unfortunately I had to leave in the afternoon, as I had an evening class in London.
My Drawing class was great fun again. This time we were looking at drawing plants using tonal value. I focussed on a swiss cheese plant and used heavy and light lines to draw the light and dark areas of outline, then we moved on to working on paper coloured with dilute ink, and drawing tonal areas in charcoal and chalk. Different people drew in different ways - I use the side of the charcoal a lot, and use a lot of pressure so the charcoal breaks and shatters, as this is the quality of the medium. Other people used the charcoal like a pencil, with delicate fine lining. I liked the bold shapes of the swiss cheese plant leaves, others liked the delicacy and detail of some of the flowers on display. Very enjoyable. And I like the classroom environment, where I get to look at other people's work and see how they use the materials.
Essay feedback: Excellent communication skills; intelligent use of secondary sources; paraphrasing clear and precise. Don't use Oxford English Dictionary for definitions - find better sources. The use of historical sources is well contextualised in a wider debate. Substanital use of Treadaway's thesis is appropriate and well paraphrased. Detailed theoretical debate is matched with interesting examples of contemporary practice. Greater attention to the benefits Cathy has gleaned from this work would have been useful but otherwise this essay is done to an excellent standard.
I was very pleased with this outcome - by the time I had handed it in, I had looked at it so much, that I was not at all sure whether it was any good or not. It is as if I completely lose my critical faculty and self awareness by the end of a long piece of research. This is because I have to work so hard to get the details right, particularly the bibliography, and fiddling about with details makes me exhausted, frustrated and bad tempered! So this feedback made me delighted.
Setting up the exhibition at Parndon Mill was the usual scramble. Textile pieces being ironed, cabinets being cleaned, debates about how to display work to best effect. The students had organised the private view for Friday evening and arranged catering. Unfortunately I had to leave in the afternoon, as I had an evening class in London.
My Drawing class was great fun again. This time we were looking at drawing plants using tonal value. I focussed on a swiss cheese plant and used heavy and light lines to draw the light and dark areas of outline, then we moved on to working on paper coloured with dilute ink, and drawing tonal areas in charcoal and chalk. Different people drew in different ways - I use the side of the charcoal a lot, and use a lot of pressure so the charcoal breaks and shatters, as this is the quality of the medium. Other people used the charcoal like a pencil, with delicate fine lining. I liked the bold shapes of the swiss cheese plant leaves, others liked the delicacy and detail of some of the flowers on display. Very enjoyable. And I like the classroom environment, where I get to look at other people's work and see how they use the materials.
Thursday 2 May 2013
Thoughts from the swimming pool no 9
Another 1350m swim and I felt strong and powerful.
I was thinking about my review in a couple of weeks time. I am starting to see that the development work I have done about women's work is quite good, although it has taken me for ever to get there. I was thinking about how to target different markets, which has facilitated my understanding of how my ideas have developed. I worked up 3 cushions depicting weighing scales, and although they are very nice, they appeal to a middle class, middle aged female market. This is a valid market for commercial application, but not what I want to target. I want to work towards more thought provoking work and my ruminations around how linings represent women's work, are becoming more important. Linings improve how curtains and clothes wear - they are largely invisible, but support and improve the feel and life of the object - just like women's work! I need to find women's domestic objects/garments that are lined - preferably for working class women. Or what else gets lined? Drawers? (Furniture, not knickers!) I need to work out how to incorporate some of my cutting one-liners into my portrayal of women's work - this would emulate Timorous Beasties work. I am ok about emulating their work, which is odd, because I cannot praise Caren Garfen's work highly enough and if I were to emulate her work, I would feel I was plagiarising it - and I would not insult her work by so doing!
I also considered what to say at my review, about the Degree Planning module. I have been worried that I have not produced enough samples or completed objects. But today, swimming up and down, I realised Planning is about Thinking. Next year, Final Major Project, is about Organising - ie Doing. Most people confuse planning & organising and think they are the same. But if you differentiate it into Thinking and Doing, the difference becomes obvious. I have done lots of thinking (at which I am very slow and ponderous) and that is ok, because that is what this module is all about.
I am still exploring different drawing styles and am looking forward to my next class at City Lit. Last Friday we worked on continuous line drawing and I meant to practice on my domestic objects during the week. As usual, life just got too busy, so that never happened, but I still have good intentions.
I was thinking about my review in a couple of weeks time. I am starting to see that the development work I have done about women's work is quite good, although it has taken me for ever to get there. I was thinking about how to target different markets, which has facilitated my understanding of how my ideas have developed. I worked up 3 cushions depicting weighing scales, and although they are very nice, they appeal to a middle class, middle aged female market. This is a valid market for commercial application, but not what I want to target. I want to work towards more thought provoking work and my ruminations around how linings represent women's work, are becoming more important. Linings improve how curtains and clothes wear - they are largely invisible, but support and improve the feel and life of the object - just like women's work! I need to find women's domestic objects/garments that are lined - preferably for working class women. Or what else gets lined? Drawers? (Furniture, not knickers!) I need to work out how to incorporate some of my cutting one-liners into my portrayal of women's work - this would emulate Timorous Beasties work. I am ok about emulating their work, which is odd, because I cannot praise Caren Garfen's work highly enough and if I were to emulate her work, I would feel I was plagiarising it - and I would not insult her work by so doing!
I also considered what to say at my review, about the Degree Planning module. I have been worried that I have not produced enough samples or completed objects. But today, swimming up and down, I realised Planning is about Thinking. Next year, Final Major Project, is about Organising - ie Doing. Most people confuse planning & organising and think they are the same. But if you differentiate it into Thinking and Doing, the difference becomes obvious. I have done lots of thinking (at which I am very slow and ponderous) and that is ok, because that is what this module is all about.
I am still exploring different drawing styles and am looking forward to my next class at City Lit. Last Friday we worked on continuous line drawing and I meant to practice on my domestic objects during the week. As usual, life just got too busy, so that never happened, but I still have good intentions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)