Posts
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Monday, 2 February 2009
Sunday, 1 February 2009
Underworld
This is just here because I mentioned Underworld in a previous post and then had the urge to look up one of their videos. I have played this over and over on my ipod yet never seen the video . . .turns out . . .I love it!
Blogger Makeover
I have managed to give my blog a look I actually like!! Taken me a little bit to get there but I'm finally at peace with it. I chose the dandelion image because I feel it relates well to the Intimate Immensity theme. . . tiny little flower whose seeds float and carry with the wind to populate the world with more dandelions, whose seeds will float and carry to create hundreds more. There is a beautiful, fragile, whimsical infinity assosciated with such a common weed. It has inspired me to discover more about them and explore the possibilities.
Sculpture Reel
Sculpture Reel 1 from Sculpture on Vimeo.
I love this video. I'm not sure what he's doing and how he is managing to achieve what he is doing but love the whole thing. I seem to have become quite fascinated with musical/visual sculpture. It just looks really cool. I love the images on the record producing the kaleidoscope effect . . .very like the early zoetrope animation technique. I like the makeshift adhoc approach, seems very spontaneous but there had to be a lot of planning and genius behind it all. It seems very eccentric mad professor accidentally being cool. It's just brilliant.
Solar
Solar, with lyrics. from flight404 on Vimeo.
I had a look at this video because I became fascinated with audio visualizers and this looked to me like it was going to be just that with some solar graphics (I'm clicking and searching just about everything space and universe related at the moment)It is pretty much what I expected it to be except of it's use of words. That added a whole new dimension for me - the immensity of language and also how intimate words can be too. It all looks beautiful together. The words are lyrics from the song but I was thinking that when you view it, it could be interpreted as trying to understand the immensity of the universe with the limitations of language and how that means we have to bring the universe into our own minds to only begin to comprehend.
Kymatikon
A very nice one - Kymatikon 0002 - Live at Alkatraz from Arnold Marko on Vimeo.
This is just ammazing. A very simple idea but so effective. It appears to be very fine white flour on the speaker and filmed in black and white. I have posted a similiar video a few posts back but the music used in this is much more experimental and atmospheric. It works really well and I am in awe. . . really want to try it out myself. It's the real equivalent of audio visualizer software. I like the whole process of the vibrations determining what happens to the thousands of particles of dust. Sometimes it's violent, sometimes it's gradual. A bit like the Big Bang and evolution.
Tidy Monster
Tidy Monster - 3D Animation @ University Of Hertfordshire 2007 from Digital Animation Herts Uni UK on Vimeo.
Again, this is stunning but absolutely terrorfying. I'm not too sure what it's about but it strikes me there are several themes. Mental constraints, unleashed rage, simmering anger, claustrophia, mental instability, violence, behind closed doors, domestic abuse and terror, mental confusion, hallucination, imprisoned, frustrated, lack of control . . . all of these could also relate to intimate immensity in a far darker way than I have otherwise been exploring. The mood is very dark, sinister and threatening. It reminds me very much of Underworld and some of the music they make, where snippets of other peoples conversations are turned into song lyrics to surreal and evocative effect.
Suddenly
Suddenly from Magnus Engsfors on Vimeo.
The maker of this video stated along the lines that this had been inspired by a mental collapse he had sufferred. I think it is very effective. Being completely incapacitated and surrounded by barren wasteland. No vitality and no foreseeable future, just broken within a time standstill. I have included it because it relates to the mind and how it is immense and intimate but not infallible.
Saturday, 31 January 2009
Skalpel - Sculpture
This came up when I put in a search for sculpture . . . Skalpel are a band I like on Ninja Tune label but thought this video was interesting as it does indeed sound like a musical sculpture. It sounds very wandering and daydream like and felt it related quite well to the theme Intimate Immensity!
Another Skalpel video. Very inspiring.
Friday, 30 January 2009
Sculptural Textiles
Found a variety of fantastic sculptures on brilliant site I found - Art Moco. Will probably make a video or slideshow of images I found later but it was particulary good for discovering contemporary techniques and ideas. Whatever technique I use , it will have to be affordable and practical so I found this extremely helpful for stirring up thoughts on how to achieve certain results. I really love the above sculpture by Manfred Kielnhofer which is made of treated textiles despite it's solid appearance. I have quite a lot more ideas and avenues to follow now and will need to do some experimenting.
Houses at Papil
An old picture taken at Papil 2 or 3 years ago. I had a group of photos I liked, from a picnic outing I took my son Luke on. It was a beautiful hot day and got a few shots of some stunning scenes. The colours were really vibrant with the sun. I thought I had lost this after a computer crash but I had uploaded it to Flickr and forgotten it was there so hopefully I might be able to to retrieve some more . . . since The Claesline Gallery is at Burra. I like the bright yellow, green and blue colours working together together and the metal gates and fencing looking overlapped and piled together . . . and the varying shapes of the house, boat, sheds . . . quite structural and architectural in an accidental, rural working life way. Need to try find more photos taken from that day.
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Museum Trip
Went to the Shetland Museum with classmates and Roxanne to research and seek inspiration. Were lucky enough to get a guided tour by one of the staff who took us through Shetland History with particular emphasis on women's work and status in Shetland, Burra and textiles as well as focusing on some of our requested areas of interest. I asked for some information on Vikings, Up Helly Aa and press gangs as I'm interested in the parallels between some of the barbaric oppression of Shetlanders by Vikings and press ganging and slavery, ships, crowds etc. I have discovered there may be a press gang hidey hole near Burra which could be interesting to look into. A very small cave that men hid in to avoid forceful recruitment into the navy could certainly be seen as intimate and the numbers of Shetland men drafted by the navy were huge and devastating to Island communities. I suppose Highland Clearances could also be something to investigate, as well as smugglers caves and I intend to go back to the museum at some point to take more detailed photos and visit the Archives for more information. I managed to get the whole tour recorded on my phone so hopefully this can be uploaded once I get home. It might be an idea to to take video next time we go to the Claesline Gallery at Burra as I feel this could be a very useful research medium since I can look back and perhaps pick out things I missed or wasn't immediately struck by. There were several aspects of the tour that intrigued me and I will probably remember better when I rewatch video and take notes but I was particularly keen on a group of bottles in a whisky display cabinet and I thought about using the hundreds of glass bottles I have at home in some way to represent crowds and immensity.
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
More Mess
This is fun! More pictures of mess and chaos which I have been tidying away today after college. Reckon I'll need to use my proper camera instead of my phone though. Reminds me of the work of a sculptor, we were shown at college now I see it on screen. Must be thinking in subconcious ways.
Fair Isle
Oh yeah . . . was nearly forgetting. I have ideas to do with Fair Isle and need to collect jumpers, examples and so on and brainstorm.
Mess
I have decided, after joking about it, that I am going to keep a visual record of all the mess the kids (and myself) make and try to do something creative with it. I get very upset and irritated with the constant needless mess as I always seem to be repetitively cleaning up the same crap when I'd rather be doing something creative/fun/educational/interesting/useful/meaningful/social etc. It wouldn't bother me so much except that my house seems to get totally trashed on a daily basis and it's driving me nuts. It's an enormous waste of effort. From this day on I will attempt to keep a visual diary of all the clutter and garbage and make a creative project out of it somehow. . . Maybe then I won't feel so infuriated at all the diverted time I'd rather spend on artistic past times. Perhaps looking back over all the mess I haver tidied up will make me feel like I have achieved something worthwhile and creative after all!!!!!
Monday, 26 January 2009
Souvlaki Space Station
I was collecting images from NASA and other sites and had planned to put them to Souvlaki Space Station by Slowdive (one of my favourite ever tunes!!) and found that somebody had already done exactly that on Youtube to stunning effect! Great minds think alike. Good. Saves me a bit of bother! I'm really just making videos because I want the perfect visualisations with just the right music for aesthetic and inspiration's sake. If a video looks shit I'm not gonna use it. . . better off doing it myself. . . but this one is GOOD. Maybe I'll collect more spacey pictures another time. I love the floating out into infinity effect at the end of the video. Beautiful, peaceful, exciting and scary all at once. A bit of a feeling of getting away from it all into completely unchartered territory which could be full of hope or apprehension. Really pleased I found this as it's what I would have liked to have achieved but way better than anything I could have actually done.
The music is ethereal and multi layered and, for me, captures perfectly the atmosphere of floating out into deep space. I just, at this moment, realised that I am thinking about space and the universe in certain ways because I am reading Moondust by Andrew Smith. I stupidly hadn't thought of that til now.
Space, Mind and Imagination
When I think of Intimate Immmensity I think of space and imagination - the infinity of the universe and the infinity of the mind. Thought wandering and daydreaming are limitless as are the cosmos. We have to use our minds and our personal experiences to make sense of the world. The universe can only be portrayed through our minds eye by exercising our internal perceptions of all that is around us and all that we have ever experienced or understood. We need our memories, imagination, logic and rationale to make sense of the world and anything beyond.
It would be useful to collect images and research information relating to these concepts to find ways of visually representing them. Starting points could be pictures/videos/ articles of space, universe, globe, mind, brain, imagination, memory, logic, rationale, dream, day dream, perception etc.
Tomorrow I will be taking pictures of the Guizer Jarl squad, Galley and the crowds in the morning and again in the evening. I am interested in crowds as a theme, the immensity of vast numbers of people coming together, shared personal experiences of the same event and the vibe and atmosphere of large numbers of people united by a single occasion. I am thinking of the parallels that could be drawn between the Washington crowds of the Obama inauguration and how they might relate/compare to the Up Helly Aa crowds of Shetland.
It would be useful to collect images and research information relating to these concepts to find ways of visually representing them. Starting points could be pictures/videos/ articles of space, universe, globe, mind, brain, imagination, memory, logic, rationale, dream, day dream, perception etc.
Tomorrow I will be taking pictures of the Guizer Jarl squad, Galley and the crowds in the morning and again in the evening. I am interested in crowds as a theme, the immensity of vast numbers of people coming together, shared personal experiences of the same event and the vibe and atmosphere of large numbers of people united by a single occasion. I am thinking of the parallels that could be drawn between the Washington crowds of the Obama inauguration and how they might relate/compare to the Up Helly Aa crowds of Shetland.
Jen Stark, Paper Sculptures
Video I made using images of Jen Stark's paper sculptures and illustrations. Posting this from college to see how it works.
Sunday, 25 January 2009
Saturday, 24 January 2009
Friday, 23 January 2009
Jessica Stockholder
A video I made featuring a collection of Jessica Stockholder installations set to Blue Space by Honeyroot - one of my favourite bands at the moment.
Annette Messager
Sculpture by Annette Messager. Made from mosquito net and taxidermied animals! Like the effect and the look of the net weighted down by the dead animals.
LegoLand California Inauguration
CNN news item on the legoland inauguration. Like the look of crowds and monumentous scale shrunken down to toys and miniature form. Bright plastics similiar to colours used in Speiliks toys.
Jessica Stockholder's Work
Art:21 video of some of Jessica Stockholder's work . . . love how she uses mundane and unexpected items in her work. Also appreciate the use and precision of bright colours and the scale of a lot of her pieces.
Lego Inauguration
Found this on Flickr while loooking for crowd photos of 2009 inauguration. Really like the use of child's toy to convey historic event. Tongue in cheek yet powerful. Like the colours, reminds me of Speiliks toys by Davey Inkster at Claesline Gallery location
Intimate Immensity Brief
Shetland College UHI Millennium Institute
BA Contemporary Textiles 2008-09
Module: Sculpture, Level 1
STUDENT BRIEF
Title: ‘INTIMATE IMMENSITY’
Study time: 150 hours
This Brief covers all Learning Outcomes for the Sculpture module and elements of Visual Studies and Design Studies. Please refer to the MODULE DESCRIPTOR for a description of the Learning Outcomes.
In this module we will explore the theme of ‘intimate immensity’ in relation to a specific location which is where you will site your final work. This location, The Claesline Gallery, East Burra, will effect the materials and structure of your final work as well as its meaning. In this module you will explore ways of expressing in material and spatial form the idea of 'intimate immensity' in relation to ideas relating to the ‘clothesline’.
Use this Brief in conjunction with your Sculpture Timetable so that you coordinate your work in each of the three stages of the module with individual tutorials, lectures and seminars, field visits, group tutorials, the Interim Review and final assessment.
The Theme
‘intimate immensity’
What does the phrase ‘intimate immensity’ suggest to you? Does it suggest a space, a relationship or perhaps an experience? Do you think it refers to an emotional or psychological quality? Or does it evoke an imaginary state?
You should look up the words ‘intimate’ and ‘immensity’ in a Thesaurus as well as in a Dictionary so that you can find definitions, synonyms and antonyms in order to help you think more deeply and concisely about the meanings of 'intimate’ and ‘immensity’.
Remember - the key to your response to the phrase is the way the words work together. ‘Intimate immensity’ is an idea introduced by the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard in his book, The Poetics of Space. He writes about the imaginary spaces of the interior, and in fact the title of a chapter in the book is Intimate Immensity. This book is available in the library. You should have a look at it, but don’t worry about reading the entire book – use it as a tool to help your thinking about how you will respond to this Brief and interpret the ideas posed by the phrase ‘intimate immensity’.
The Location
The Claesline Gallery
The Smuggins, Bridge End, Burra Isle
This gallery is quite literally a clothesline. The Burra-based artist, Susan Timmins, has created it She publicly launched it in August 2007 with the final Shetland event for the participatory project, Domestic Dialogues (www.domesticdialogues.blogspot.com). She previewed it in 2006 during 60º North, the NAN Networking Event sponsored by Veer North (www.veernorth.org.uk).
You will be required for the final outcome of your work for this module to produce work that will be able to be located at The Claesline Gallery. Your work will need to be waterproof, windproof and able to hang from a clothesline. We shall make a site visit (see timetable) to look at the location and discuss more closely with Susan the ideas behind the Gallery as well as the issues and practicalities of our work for it.
It will be fundamental to your work that you consider the meaning of the location in relation to the theme of ‘intimate immensity’. There are many ways to approach this relationship. For example, you could look at the subject from a historical perspective or from your personal experience. You also need to take into consideration the visual qualities and topographical features of the site. For this reason be sure to take your camera and sketchbook to the site visit so you can record the way it looks.
Site Visits to the Claesline Gallery
We will need to make site visits to The Claesline Gallery. You will need more than one visit, as you need to test your ideas as they develop in relation to the site and context. We’ll make two visits as a group, and you may find you need a third visit. We can discuss and timetable this latter visit once we get a clearer idea of how you are working. You should establish a good line of communication with Susan, which will begin with the first visit. You should prepare for this visit by thinking of questions you might have for Susan. Be sure to take a camera and your sketchbook to all site visits.
References
There are many sources of reference from the history of art and design as well as contemporary art. You should also consider the traditional cultural fields, e.g. literature, music, cinema, as well as philosophy and the sciences. You might look to the world of popular culture and media as well as your sphere of everyday life.
I have compiled a reading list for this module which gives you some suggestions for books that consider questions of location or ‘place’ as well as others which look at ideas, issues and movements in sculpture and contemporary art. Recent publications about contemporary textiles include works which have reference to the relationship between textiles and location. This relationship could, for example, refer to architectural structures made from textiles or ways in which either the materials – whether natural and traditional materials or new and high-tech - influence the way that textiles can be used for a particular site.
Many artists working in the post-war period use textiles as a fine art material. Work by some of the following artists might help give you insight into to uses of different materials, interpretations, styles and approaches to resolving this subject matter in relation to the processes of making and locating your work: Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois, Christo, Tracy Emin, Anthony Gormley, Barbara Hepworth, Eva Hesse, Anthony Gormley, Mona Hatoum, Anish Kapoor, Cathy de Monchaux, Helen Chadwick, Henry Moore, Cornelia Parker, August Rodin, Doris Salcedo, Rachel Whiteread, Chris Drury, Ilya Kabakov, Jimmie Durham, Kiki Smith, Christian Boltanski, Carsten Höller, Mark Dion, Mary Kelly, Georgia O’Keeffe, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen
VISUAL STUDIES – Research
In Visual Studies you will be expected to undertake research - the first of the three stages in the process for the realisation of your work. It will form the foundation of your further study, and I expect you to go through this process before you move to the next element of your module, Design Studies.
There are many ways in which you can undertake your research, and I will work with you to help you identify the most appropriate methods for you. No matter how you work, I expect you to keep a record of all your research and thinking. Use your sketchbook to make these processes of research visible.
1. Think about the idea of ‘intimate immensity’. What does it mean to you? Are you more interested in concrete relationships or abstract ones? Intellectual, emotional or psychological? What triggers your imagination in relation to the theme? Identify specific points and thoughts that you would like to investigate.
2. Research – Find appropriate reference material that relates to the idea of ‘intimate immensity’. This material should be diverse and draw on two basic sources –
1) visual research undertaken as appropriate,through drawing, assembling, filming, interviewing, photographing etc.
2) academic research drawn from a historical, cultural or social context; the history of art and design as well as contemporary art and design
3. Visualise your ideas in material form. Use any means that is appropriate, some may be familiar and comfortable, others may be new and challenging. Use your imagination, take risks and experiment. Go where you never thought you would venture. Draw, sew and stitch, cut, glue, fold, assemble objects etc. You may draw with thread or tape or pieces of materials.
By the end of your research you should have a body of material comprising VISUAL STUDIES, comprising: sketchbooks, notes, research references, ‘sculptural sketches’, materials and drawings using a variety of 2 and 3-dimensional approaches.
Review the material and see if you can organise it in a way which helps you identify the ideas you want to explore further in DESIGN STUDIES.
DESIGN STUDIES – Development
In Design Studies we will work through the next stage in the process of making work, which is the development stage. In this part of the module you will identify and develop your best and most feasible ideas from Visual Studies. You will be working toward greater focus and depth.
You should begin to find the most appropriate ways to translate your ideas into three-dimensional form that fits the situation and location presented by The Claesline Gallery. You should be making test pieces for materials, 3-d maquettes. You should also use photomontage to test your ideas before putting them in the real-life situation. Select some of your ideas from Visual Studies. Using a range of materials appropriate to your ideas, translate a selection of your work into new sculptural studies. Again, try to be experimental, testing out your ideas about 'interior' in as many ways as you think you can. Play with your materials and stretch your imagination.
It is all right if some of your trials seem to be 'failures' as you can learn from them. Save everything. Record your analysis of the strengths and weaknesses in what you do in your sketchbook/notebook. Why do you think some of your work has 'failed'? Can you recall what you thought you might have wanted to achieve with it? Do you know how you would change it?
You should use some of the ideas and imagery you have been developing in Visual Studies to explore a range of processes, including CAD, to help develop some of your ideas so that you can realise them in your final sculptural pieces.
You may use a combination of methods, e.g. drawing, photography, writing, CAD, to analyse and refine your thinking.
You should investigate the working methods established practitioners use and the different places, or ‘contexts’, where they put their work.
You should keep and/or document everything.
SCULPTURE – Realisation
You will be expected to use the information you have collected, the ideas you have developed and the materials and processes you have tested specifically in Design Studies to produce your final work. This work should express in material and spatial form the idea of 'intimate immensity' in relation to the meaning, situation and conditions.presented by the location and context of The Claesline Gallery.
You may wish to produce a single piece or a series of pieces. It is important that what you make is able to be installed within the timeframe that you have agreed with Susan Timmins and me for your time slot. The work must endure the weather conditions – i.e. it must be weather and windproof. If it does not, then its ephemerality must be intentional and part of the concept behind your work. Your work of course must also be transportable to Burra.
This work should represent work of a larger scale than your maquettes. How you interpret the idea of "larger scale" can vary. For example, it could mean a larger size for a single piece, or it could be a collection of small elements.
You will be provided with an introduction to some of the basic materials, methods and processes of sculpture during the modules which may take a variety of forms, from workshop demonstrations, talks and one-to-one inductions. The aim of these introductions is to give you insight into basic processes and techniques appropriate to your interests and which you may choose to apply to the resolution of your ideas in sculptural form. Keep a record of your workshop demonstrations in the form of notes and test pieces as appropriate.
You should continue to record your working processes in written and visual form, including final documentation of your work installed at The Claesline Gallery. I will help you with this aspect of your work, both in choosing what form is most appropriate and how to organise it. This record will be particularly important when you prepare ther presentation of your work from this module for the External Examiners’ visit at the end of Semester 2.
Roxane Permar
January 2009
BA Contemporary Textiles 2008-09
Module: Sculpture, Level 1
STUDENT BRIEF
Title: ‘INTIMATE IMMENSITY’
Study time: 150 hours
This Brief covers all Learning Outcomes for the Sculpture module and elements of Visual Studies and Design Studies. Please refer to the MODULE DESCRIPTOR for a description of the Learning Outcomes.
In this module we will explore the theme of ‘intimate immensity’ in relation to a specific location which is where you will site your final work. This location, The Claesline Gallery, East Burra, will effect the materials and structure of your final work as well as its meaning. In this module you will explore ways of expressing in material and spatial form the idea of 'intimate immensity' in relation to ideas relating to the ‘clothesline’.
Use this Brief in conjunction with your Sculpture Timetable so that you coordinate your work in each of the three stages of the module with individual tutorials, lectures and seminars, field visits, group tutorials, the Interim Review and final assessment.
The Theme
‘intimate immensity’
What does the phrase ‘intimate immensity’ suggest to you? Does it suggest a space, a relationship or perhaps an experience? Do you think it refers to an emotional or psychological quality? Or does it evoke an imaginary state?
You should look up the words ‘intimate’ and ‘immensity’ in a Thesaurus as well as in a Dictionary so that you can find definitions, synonyms and antonyms in order to help you think more deeply and concisely about the meanings of 'intimate’ and ‘immensity’.
Remember - the key to your response to the phrase is the way the words work together. ‘Intimate immensity’ is an idea introduced by the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard in his book, The Poetics of Space. He writes about the imaginary spaces of the interior, and in fact the title of a chapter in the book is Intimate Immensity. This book is available in the library. You should have a look at it, but don’t worry about reading the entire book – use it as a tool to help your thinking about how you will respond to this Brief and interpret the ideas posed by the phrase ‘intimate immensity’.
The Location
The Claesline Gallery
The Smuggins, Bridge End, Burra Isle
This gallery is quite literally a clothesline. The Burra-based artist, Susan Timmins, has created it She publicly launched it in August 2007 with the final Shetland event for the participatory project, Domestic Dialogues (www.domesticdialogues.blogspot.com). She previewed it in 2006 during 60º North, the NAN Networking Event sponsored by Veer North (www.veernorth.org.uk).
You will be required for the final outcome of your work for this module to produce work that will be able to be located at The Claesline Gallery. Your work will need to be waterproof, windproof and able to hang from a clothesline. We shall make a site visit (see timetable) to look at the location and discuss more closely with Susan the ideas behind the Gallery as well as the issues and practicalities of our work for it.
It will be fundamental to your work that you consider the meaning of the location in relation to the theme of ‘intimate immensity’. There are many ways to approach this relationship. For example, you could look at the subject from a historical perspective or from your personal experience. You also need to take into consideration the visual qualities and topographical features of the site. For this reason be sure to take your camera and sketchbook to the site visit so you can record the way it looks.
Site Visits to the Claesline Gallery
We will need to make site visits to The Claesline Gallery. You will need more than one visit, as you need to test your ideas as they develop in relation to the site and context. We’ll make two visits as a group, and you may find you need a third visit. We can discuss and timetable this latter visit once we get a clearer idea of how you are working. You should establish a good line of communication with Susan, which will begin with the first visit. You should prepare for this visit by thinking of questions you might have for Susan. Be sure to take a camera and your sketchbook to all site visits.
References
There are many sources of reference from the history of art and design as well as contemporary art. You should also consider the traditional cultural fields, e.g. literature, music, cinema, as well as philosophy and the sciences. You might look to the world of popular culture and media as well as your sphere of everyday life.
I have compiled a reading list for this module which gives you some suggestions for books that consider questions of location or ‘place’ as well as others which look at ideas, issues and movements in sculpture and contemporary art. Recent publications about contemporary textiles include works which have reference to the relationship between textiles and location. This relationship could, for example, refer to architectural structures made from textiles or ways in which either the materials – whether natural and traditional materials or new and high-tech - influence the way that textiles can be used for a particular site.
Many artists working in the post-war period use textiles as a fine art material. Work by some of the following artists might help give you insight into to uses of different materials, interpretations, styles and approaches to resolving this subject matter in relation to the processes of making and locating your work: Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois, Christo, Tracy Emin, Anthony Gormley, Barbara Hepworth, Eva Hesse, Anthony Gormley, Mona Hatoum, Anish Kapoor, Cathy de Monchaux, Helen Chadwick, Henry Moore, Cornelia Parker, August Rodin, Doris Salcedo, Rachel Whiteread, Chris Drury, Ilya Kabakov, Jimmie Durham, Kiki Smith, Christian Boltanski, Carsten Höller, Mark Dion, Mary Kelly, Georgia O’Keeffe, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen
VISUAL STUDIES – Research
In Visual Studies you will be expected to undertake research - the first of the three stages in the process for the realisation of your work. It will form the foundation of your further study, and I expect you to go through this process before you move to the next element of your module, Design Studies.
There are many ways in which you can undertake your research, and I will work with you to help you identify the most appropriate methods for you. No matter how you work, I expect you to keep a record of all your research and thinking. Use your sketchbook to make these processes of research visible.
1. Think about the idea of ‘intimate immensity’. What does it mean to you? Are you more interested in concrete relationships or abstract ones? Intellectual, emotional or psychological? What triggers your imagination in relation to the theme? Identify specific points and thoughts that you would like to investigate.
2. Research – Find appropriate reference material that relates to the idea of ‘intimate immensity’. This material should be diverse and draw on two basic sources –
1) visual research undertaken as appropriate,through drawing, assembling, filming, interviewing, photographing etc.
2) academic research drawn from a historical, cultural or social context; the history of art and design as well as contemporary art and design
3. Visualise your ideas in material form. Use any means that is appropriate, some may be familiar and comfortable, others may be new and challenging. Use your imagination, take risks and experiment. Go where you never thought you would venture. Draw, sew and stitch, cut, glue, fold, assemble objects etc. You may draw with thread or tape or pieces of materials.
By the end of your research you should have a body of material comprising VISUAL STUDIES, comprising: sketchbooks, notes, research references, ‘sculptural sketches’, materials and drawings using a variety of 2 and 3-dimensional approaches.
Review the material and see if you can organise it in a way which helps you identify the ideas you want to explore further in DESIGN STUDIES.
DESIGN STUDIES – Development
In Design Studies we will work through the next stage in the process of making work, which is the development stage. In this part of the module you will identify and develop your best and most feasible ideas from Visual Studies. You will be working toward greater focus and depth.
You should begin to find the most appropriate ways to translate your ideas into three-dimensional form that fits the situation and location presented by The Claesline Gallery. You should be making test pieces for materials, 3-d maquettes. You should also use photomontage to test your ideas before putting them in the real-life situation. Select some of your ideas from Visual Studies. Using a range of materials appropriate to your ideas, translate a selection of your work into new sculptural studies. Again, try to be experimental, testing out your ideas about 'interior' in as many ways as you think you can. Play with your materials and stretch your imagination.
It is all right if some of your trials seem to be 'failures' as you can learn from them. Save everything. Record your analysis of the strengths and weaknesses in what you do in your sketchbook/notebook. Why do you think some of your work has 'failed'? Can you recall what you thought you might have wanted to achieve with it? Do you know how you would change it?
You should use some of the ideas and imagery you have been developing in Visual Studies to explore a range of processes, including CAD, to help develop some of your ideas so that you can realise them in your final sculptural pieces.
You may use a combination of methods, e.g. drawing, photography, writing, CAD, to analyse and refine your thinking.
You should investigate the working methods established practitioners use and the different places, or ‘contexts’, where they put their work.
You should keep and/or document everything.
SCULPTURE – Realisation
You will be expected to use the information you have collected, the ideas you have developed and the materials and processes you have tested specifically in Design Studies to produce your final work. This work should express in material and spatial form the idea of 'intimate immensity' in relation to the meaning, situation and conditions.presented by the location and context of The Claesline Gallery.
You may wish to produce a single piece or a series of pieces. It is important that what you make is able to be installed within the timeframe that you have agreed with Susan Timmins and me for your time slot. The work must endure the weather conditions – i.e. it must be weather and windproof. If it does not, then its ephemerality must be intentional and part of the concept behind your work. Your work of course must also be transportable to Burra.
This work should represent work of a larger scale than your maquettes. How you interpret the idea of "larger scale" can vary. For example, it could mean a larger size for a single piece, or it could be a collection of small elements.
You will be provided with an introduction to some of the basic materials, methods and processes of sculpture during the modules which may take a variety of forms, from workshop demonstrations, talks and one-to-one inductions. The aim of these introductions is to give you insight into basic processes and techniques appropriate to your interests and which you may choose to apply to the resolution of your ideas in sculptural form. Keep a record of your workshop demonstrations in the form of notes and test pieces as appropriate.
You should continue to record your working processes in written and visual form, including final documentation of your work installed at The Claesline Gallery. I will help you with this aspect of your work, both in choosing what form is most appropriate and how to organise it. This record will be particularly important when you prepare ther presentation of your work from this module for the External Examiners’ visit at the end of Semester 2.
Roxane Permar
January 2009
Yes We Can Video
Really like the people power feeling in this video. The leader speaking in tune with the singers, actors, musicians and the crowd chanting. Moved by the positive, determined feel.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)