Thursday 9 December 2010

Day 64: Berlin Day 4

Martin Gropious Museum

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Kunst des Lichts
'Art can change people'
  • experimented with light and photography
  •  Impression von alten marseille hafen- A video for senses, constantly moving, range of fast past shots and angles (abstraction within reality). Different view on history and what is important. A documentary film to capture the steady hum of commerce, people and neighborhoods.
  • included geometric shapes in photos as a geometric drawing you can see things differently. 
  • Die Tanzerin Gret Palucca 1930- dance is one important aspect of art, never made photograph of her dancing, always static. 
  • created artwork for a light prop on an electric stage to represent movement
  • photogram- image made by placing items between paper and light source- no camera
  • reproduction- essence of his aesthetics, took photographs of photogram's to reproduce. 
  • particular way of hanging- no order as no hierarchy
  • worked as stage and costume designer
  • experimented with painting through plexi glass and light
  • didn't like coloured photography but still showcased it
  • "Art is the most complex, vitalizing and civilizing of human actions. Thus it is of biological necessity. Art sensitizes man to the best that is immanent in him through an intensified expression involving many layers of experience (Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, form Vision in Motion, published 1947)
  • Pacmac 1943- oil on plexiglass, not visible on glass but when light projection it forms a textural print
  • Photography-'used as an instrument to reproduce reality, is now considered as an autonomous medium, the potentials of which are still to be discovered'.
  • 'creative photography is that which puts emphasis on the autonomy of the medium, that which doesn't reproduce reality but rather which creates something new from its own methods'.
Pierre Soulages
Whilst I spent most of my time in the exhibition above I briefly looked at Soulages. At first glance I didn't understand the amazing reviews I had read, but after a closer look it was obvious. Only using Black Pierre Soulages creates a variety of textures, strokes and thickness of the paint. His reason for doing so 'BECAUSE'. He believes the art has a three way relationship, 1) the thing it is, 2) the painter who made it, 3)the viewer who sees it. "It's what I do that teaches me what I'm looking for".

Welt Wissen
On the lower level I visited another exhibition. It's large scale dwarf's the observer. From one side the abstract silhouettes bring beauty to an unknown object, which the viewer sub-consciously tries to identify. The view from the front is a vast array of objects from all across the world and time. They are ordered as if in the periodic table with each object representing something different. Innovative ways of displaying artwork descriptions, through looking in a telescope each item has its own description popping up digitally. 

Jewish Museum
When entering the museum, the viewer must travel through various corridors and alleyways to get to the exhibition. Once inside the viewer is made to feel out of their comfort and disorientated made the architecture of the building. This feeling of being out of place is created as if you were a Jew living in Germany and not welcome. The exhibition itself, I didn't find personally interesting but the architecture was the main wow factor. In one of the memory void's is the installation by Menashe Kadishman, "Shalechet" (falling leaves). It includes roughly 10,000 round steel plates that have been fashioned into human faces which cover the entire floor. Viewers are confronted by thousands of mutely screaming faces that are reminiscent of the harrowing photographs from the concentration and extermination camps. Below is a video of me walking over the faces, when seeing videos on the internet it looks simple, but when actual there, in a quiet empty room having to walk over screaming faces it is very disturbing.
The other video is of one method they used in the exhibition to showcase old photographs. I not only liked the various speed of turning it but also the sound made.


In the evening we visited one of the many German Christmas markets. On one side was the traditional German market with lights and Christmas themes whereas on the other was a modern roller-coaster and rides. Below are my edited photographs which show the contrast.







Wednesday 8 December 2010

Day 63: Berlin Day 3

Bauhaus Archive


"FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION"

After Germany lost WW1, it was the end of the monarchy and this was the start of a 'new' Germany. The Bauhaus dealt with the key issue in Germany which was the need for low rent housing and residence, using new materials and a new way of production. Symmetrical buildings, flat roofs, panoramic views, made buildings interesting and less need for decoration (decoration=money).
in 1993 the Bauhaus school was closed by the Nazi's as it was an international school and most students were left wing party and very influential.
Key points to the Bauhaus:

  • Martin Gropius- founder and invented honeycomb architecture ( started with one building but then can expand as family grows etc) but never followed through, only inspired others.
  • officially women regarded as equal with ratio of 50/50 at start of eduction but by the end ratio of 30/70 women to men. 
  • Famous table lamp- showcases cable in glass which catches your eye- shows off electricity.
  • Chairs- reinvented the chair, went form for legs to two!
  • basic construction of IKEA is the basis and result of Bauhaus chairs
After spending the majority of the day at the Bauhaus Archive, I went exploring Berlin and visited tourist attractions.

Above is my photograph of the Berlin wall with a contemporary twist! Below is the TV Tower in AlexanderPlatz.

Tuesday 7 December 2010

Day 62: Berlin Day 2

Hamburger Bahnhof

Westflugel Beuys
  • 'Transformed Art'- not politics or economy but will improve society
  • animals turned into wax and shaped in the space under a stariway
  • encourages interaction
  • 'I like America, and America likes me' Old man, flew to America and stayed in  room with coyote for 4 days- touching as relationship develops with wild animal (video installation)
  • wanted artwork to be able to be made by everyone
Ansem Keifer
  • wasnt told about Nazi' until 16 years old- wanted to provoke discussion about German history
  • opposite to his teacher Beuys who was a hidden artist and didnt discuss or interview
  • displayed one of three planes
Carsten Holler- Soma
  • was a scientist first, his installations became laboratory 
  • split into two- double blind situation (don't know which one)
  • 'we have drunk soma and become immortal; we have attained the light, the God is discovered'
  • "experiment whose completion lies in the observers imagination and whose evaluation is up to their powers of observation" 
Below are photos I took of the installation.


Museum Island
Below is a photograph I took of one of the museum's and later edited, expressing the peace and calm of my surroundings in Berlin. The second photograph is a slightly abstract picture I took of another building on Museum Island.


Neue Museum
I'm not normally a big fan of the ancient art work or statues but this museum was just astonishing. Not only the artwork btu the buildings architecture inside was breath taking. Within the museum I found the famous head...The Green Head and Queen Nefertiti Head.
Above is a photo of The Green Head which I have edited to highlight the contrast between the texture on the head and nose. Whilst I had seen pictures of this sculpture to see it in real life was beautiful. Queen Nefertiti's Head was also beautiful with a whole room devoted to her. Her expression was of real peace and beauty with smooth lines.
Another aspect of this museum which I found refreshing was the endless rooms which were never ending, I never had to walk the same way again, each room lead to a new display.
Aswell as the large sculptures, the exhibition included small figures and whilst walking round I noticed the abstract shadow they produced against the wall, pictured below. 



Alte National Gallery
I was not amazed by this gallery, I found it quite basic compared to others I had visited but found afew things of particular interest.
Afew paintings had a unique lighting which I could use in withing my photography, Adolph Menzel created detailed paintings of movement and colour. I was also fond of Louis Corinth's style of painting with colour and brush strokes.
The most beautiful part of the museum was its architecture, which I captured below. Whist editing the photo I was tempted to boost up the contrast more but whilst experimenting I have found that technique took away from the beauty of the building.

Pergamon Museum
I was really looking forward to visiting the Pergamon as I had heard such wonderful things about the Pergamon Altar. Not only was I astonished by the size of it but the ability to walk on it and really get up close to the beautiful sculpture. Whilst sitting on the altar you notice the other scultpure hanging around the room which is like a giant jigsaw puzzle!

On the way to Museum Island we passed an abandoned club called the Bang Bang Club. It wasn't until I started editing the picture when I realised I had also captured the reflection of a building. I then went on to edit the photo with a contemporary influence and it has become one of my favourite photographs from Berlin, which just shows the camera can capture things which the human eye doesn't, and some mistakes can be turned around!

Monday 6 December 2010

Day 61: Berlin Day 1

  The Journey

As a result of our flight being delayed it therefore meant that we had missed the last train to the hotel. When we started the train journey is was lots of fun and everyone was really excited but by the 3rd train we had had enough! I was determined to try and do as much filming as possible whilst in Berlin but I then found that after the first day I did barely any. I think this was because I was so amazed by my surroundings I would forget to film it! Below is a short documentary I made on iMovie using footage form the journey, I created this as an extra piece of work as I like to use a variety of methods within art.

Friday 3 December 2010

Day 60: Lighting Masterclass

Lighting

Today we spent the whole day in the photography studio being taught the basics on lighting. As I have no previous experience with lighting I found today really interesting and useful. On the other hand I found it to be very full on wit lots of information and therefore will take me a while to fully grasp everything. I think I need time just to be able to play with effects and what environment they give to the photos. A key thing my tutor mentioned was that students can easily get carried away with lighting and placing them very close to the subject whereas if you move them as far away as possible it gives a more subtle variation.

Thursday 2 December 2010

Day 59: FXU Training

Today I had to miss studio time to go up to the Tremough Campus for FXU training as I have been nominated and selected to represent the Art Foundation course.
I am very pleased with this title as during my time at Falmouth University I hope to be able to give something back to them aswell. It is also a great way to put across any issues or positives which can have an immediate effect on the year. At the same time it is a great way to socialise with a wide variety of students from all across the university.
The training included speeches and a presentation of our role and the university in general. I found this really interesting as it allowed me to have a deeper understanding of certain aspects of the university.

Wednesday 1 December 2010

Day 58: Contextual Lecture and Studio

Contextual Lecture

Today's Lecture was all about Berlin and places to visit.
Some key points I would like to visit include the Reichstag, The Jewish Museum, and the Pergammon Museum. I plan on creating a schedule before I leave which allows me to make full use of my time there, by taking part on the scheduled trips, visiting sites and seeing the cultural aspect of Berlin.
In preparation I have already located places on a map and have started producing a small guide to help me in my travels.

Monday 29 November 2010

Day 56: Hybrid Shooting

As I had not done much filming in Falmouth yet I decided that I would spend the day walking form the pier to the beach and film snippets of life in Falmouth. I found it really tricky as I have not got a tripod and therefore all the shots are quite wobbly! I have uploaded them and will start editing tomorrow.

Friday 26 November 2010

Day 55: Futures Lecture and Animation Taster Day

Charlotte Jones- Pottery

She went traveling but whilst traveling made collages. Her advice was to study artists not only in your discipline. She mentioned her study into Christo and the running fence in California.

Overall I was not very impressed with this artist as I just wasn't very interested in her work. I did like how she was able to study and change career later on in life though.


Animation Taster Day
Even though I do not plan on pursuing a career in animation I wanted to attend to give me an insight into the process and techniques of creating an animation. It was great to learn the basics of adobe flash professional CS5 and I produced two little animations as experiments.
By leanring the basics it now allows me the option to use animation at a later date.

Thursday 25 November 2010

Day 54: Hybrid Project

Today I have been brain storming ideas for the Hybrid Project. I have used my space to produce an area where I can scribble down all my ideas. I have also made a list of all the artists I like and key facts about their artwork.

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Day 53: Contextual Lecture and Life Drawing

Celebrity Artists
The nature of celebrity artists has changed but its something people have always been keen on.

Andy Warhol
  • 'the day will come when everyone will be famous for 15 minutes' and 'art is anything you can get away with'
  • amazed by horrific car accidents- person wouldn't be well known before accident but then they are printed all over newspapers, wouldn't publish those pictures in newspapers today 
Richard Avedan
  • underground art- associated with sprayed bananas in Berlin
  • Elvis prints- one darker than other, fading away of something, dilated represents fading of celebrity
Jeff Koons
  • interest in human culture
  • 'pink panther'- married to porn star so reflected in his work
  • 'balloon dog'- cast porcelain 1995, stainless steel one in Chateau de Versailles 2008 and other in street 1999
  • michael jackson and bubbles 1998- celebrity in Koons' time
  • popeye series- lobster reference to Dali
Tracey Emin
  • photographed by Mary McCartney as Frida Kahlo
  • her tent caught the celebrity glimpse but unmade bed seeked celebrity status
  • 'dont try to sell me your fucking fear' news beign so negative
  •  quilting and stitching- nuns stitch to stop masturbating- she does it to keep herself out of trouble
  • wants to make new things- wouldnt remake tent for millions as needs to move on
  • 'art saves me, its my saviour in many ways'
 Walt Disney
  • Walk Disney concert hall- Frank Gehry in LA and Walt Disney Offices in California
Grayson Perry
  • won turner prize- uses old Grecian vase but with contemporary pictures
  • 'the digital generation need to have a go at something messy and difficult'
Vivienne Westwood
  • leading designer in rock fashion
  • first clothes shop, called SEX, attracted attention
  • platform shows autumn- Naomi Campbell fell over in
  • 'chaos point' collection featured insects and plants painted by 7 year olds (2010)
  • inspiration from everything- magpie
  • categorised by avant garde but in order to see the future you have to understand history
Philippe Starck
  • Juicy Salif 1984- conceptual/installation
  •  about styling rather than function
  • designs things to talk about and get noticed, evokes a discussion and interaction
Sir James Dyson
  • markets his own products
  • a blade less fan- balloon video
Ai Weiwei
  • fine artists, coneptual/ installation
  • strong political activist
  • 100 million hand crafted porcelain sunflower seeds
  • commentry on the place of the individual an the masses
  • porcelain bubbles, 2008
  • fist chinese artists to make headlines in England and first at Tate Modern
Life Drawing

Tuesday 23 November 2010

Day 52: Specialisation Tutorial

I went in to have my tutorial with Dave today, which went really well. The tutorial allowed me to show him my previous work so he can have an insight into which artwork of mine I think works or doesn't. We also discussed possible places for me to apply to university as he needs to know as much as possible as he will be writing my reference. Finally we discussed the brief, The Hybrid Project.
I started by looking at the definition of Hybrid, as my project will be based around this one word.
hybrid |ˈhīˌbrid|
noun
a thing made by combining two different elements; a mixture
adjective
of mixed character; composed of mixed parts

When discussing the brief it was explained that the majority of people, including myself, had always had very specific briefs to fulfill whereas with this he wants us to create or make what ever we want! The basic outline is just that u have to use two things, whether it be...two artists insipiration, two mediums or even two themes. Whilst this is a great opportunity to do anything I want it is also hard as there are no restrictions so i already have loads of ideas.

Monday 22 November 2010

Day 51: Specialisation Set Up

Today was the first day we had in our specialisation group, photography and moving image. We arrived and set up our own area. Its great to have our own section of the room as now I have my own work space. This has allowed me to put up my pictures which I use for inspiration all around me.
After we set everything up we were each given our tutorials times, mine is tomorrow at 2pm so I prepared for it this afternoon. I plan on showing a documentary I directed and produced as well as an opening to a thriller, these videos are on youtube. Other work I intend to show is an installation I have made and a photo montage I created.
I am looking forward to finding out what the brief is as it has been a long time before I have worked to a set brief and deadline.

Friday 19 November 2010

Day 50: Futures Lecture

Diggory Gordon- Graphic Design
  1. Dont work for free unless its an interesting job
  2. Collaborate with people at college 
  3. You can never make enough cups of teas for colleagues
  4. Sometimes you have to work for a difficult client
  5. Don't drink coke, it's bad for your teeth
  6. People that shout the less, get heard the most
  7. Draw out your ideas first
  8. Be creative at university and sometimes you get to give something back
  9. How to be a graphic designer without losing your soul
  10. Work outside of work
  11. Never forget to have fun, we're not lawyers!
  12. If you want to make money, stop and become a plumber!
diggory@gendall.co.uk
Diggory's Blog- http://www.myheroeskilledcowboys.co.uk/blog/

Wednesday 17 November 2010

Day 48: Contextual Lecture

Avant Garde (Groundbreaking Art)

"Artists who have led the way with a new way of thinking"
(Cottington David, 2005, Modern Art, Oxford University Press)








Impressionism
  • Edouard Manet, Le Dejeuner Sur L'herbe, 1863, was the break away from modernism
  • Was refused by Salon(French exhibition) but was 'the highlight' of the Salon de Refuses in Paris
  • Was controversial as modern day dressed men with naked women, with no perspective and lots of puzzles to the painting
  • Manet started impressionism but Monet kept it going and developed it. Monet's Waterlillies captures essence, colour, pattern and surface
Ballet Russes (The Russian Ballet)
  • Sergei Diaghileu and Vaslav Nijinsky(dancer) moved to France and set up ballet
  • controversial as exotic, erotic and colourful
  • Leon Bakst created set designs for Scheherazade and Sleeping Beauty


DADA
  • french for childs rocking horse (nonsense)
  • an anti art movement
  • international movement that began in WW1 in neutral Switzerland as it was a place of sanctuary
  •  "for us art is not an end itself...but is an opportunity for the true perception and criticism of the times we live in" Hugo Boss
  • Duchamp foundation (toilet) also part of DADA
  • George Grosz- artwork- Fit for Service shows men being pieced together and sent back to war and People in the Street is simple and first look but further study shows everyone looking straight ahead
Expressionism
  • Oskar Kokoschka painted Bride of the Wind but it is the story behind the painting which I find interesting. It is a self portrait with Alma Mahler who had an affair with him but she made him go to war. When he returned she had run off with another man which drove Kokoscka to madness and made a life size doll of her
The Bauhaus
  • set up by Walter Gropius
  • brought design and fine art together to teach, principles now used for art foundation
  • "form follows function"- if you follow the function the form will be good-simple
  • Marcel Breur made the Slatted chair in 1924 then only two years later he made Wassily chair in 1926
  • Oskar Schlemmer designed ballet costumes for the Triadic ballet

Tuesday 16 November 2010

Day 47: Research Project

Whilst I had many ideas to do an big installation or film, I have had to re-think my ideas to make something which is achievable in the time limit. I started by studying into the objects on the table and found myself attracted to the plastic bottles because there were so many of them.
After doing sketches I decided to make a raft to represent how all objects, once taken out of their usual environment can be seen in a different way. Just by fixing together alot of bottles and putting it into the water I was able to give the bottles a structure and a story, an ironic idea of a message in a bottle.
Whilst I thought this was going to be achievable I found myself having problems locating empty bottles, placing the raft in the water and photographing it.
I had planned to get an amazing landscape in the background and capture it at a really low angle incorporating it into the landscape and making it appear alot larger. Due to not being able to get to the right location, I had to work with a pier and found that I had not fixed the bottles together as well as I needed to!


Monday 15 November 2010

Day 46: Travel to Falmouth

I spent the whole day traveling back to Falmouth and had time to consider my options but whilst I have alot more knowledge on each subject and university, I am still not clear what I want to study which I need to decide to be able to chose my pathway for my foundation.
My two options:

Public Relations:
Bournemouth
LCF (Fashion PR)
Leeds
LCC
Falmouth

TV/Film Production:
Westminster (tv production)
Westminster (film production)
Bournemouth (tv production)
LCC (film production)
LCC (events and tv production)
Falmouth (film)

Friday 12 November 2010

Thursday 11 November 2010

Day 44: Going Home

Today I did the long trip back to London as I am attending open days at universities all weekend.
I am looking at LCC, LCF, Westminster and Bournemouth University. I am hoping to study either TV Production or PR/ Fashion PR. By the end of the weekend I hope to have a clearer idea of what I want to study and where.

Wednesday 10 November 2010

Day 43: Contextual Lecture and Life Drawing

The nature and influence of Collections

I think this lecture has really helped me because lots of galleries mentioned were ones which we can visit on the Berlin Trip so it was great to know abit of history about the building and what it exhibited.
I think from the museums described I am most looking forward to the contemporary art at Hamburger Bahnhof and the Daimler gallery.
One artist which was mentioned for his collection of british culture but I have looked into him and found that he is an amazing set designer. Below is the link to his website.
http://www.clmus.com/set-design/simon-costin
Another collection which I was interested in was the Baked Bean Museum of Excellence in South Wales! I found it very amusing how a man can turn his love for baked beans into a museum!

Life Drawing
I am learning to enjoy life drawing now and found the process of quick drawings allowed to not to focus on one thing too much and also the layering made things less clear so could hide some mistakes.







Tuesday 9 November 2010

The Genius Of British Art

The Genius Of British Art by Janet Street Porter- Channel 4

"Best British art is challenging, threatening and controversial"- Janet Street Porter

I watched this documentary on how art has developed and changed which was really interesting due to the fact that it was presented by Janet Street Porter, who is an outspoken and controversial figure.

1960's
  • Most marked decade Britain has ever seen.
  • London's cultural rebirth-new art by young looking to future instead of past.
  • Pop art-Peter Blake and american inspiration, David Hockney and sexual liberaion. Richard Hamilton- Collage of American magazines symbolizing classless Britain (right).
1967
  • Police declared war on drugs- Rolling Stones
  • Gilbert and George- tweed suits turning themselves into living sculpture (got drunk!). Believe they were "created by the enemy" and that they held up a mirror to society showing 'art for all.
  • Punk music reinvented art, Johnny Rotten (Picasso of punk) used his music to protest, art is a form of protest. "Rules are for fools" and he loves to offend.
1980's

  • Money and ambition rejuvenated art combining Margaret Thatcher and punk's ambition
  • Damien Hirst- "bend the system rather than break it". Known as one of the richest artists as auctioned over 200 artworks in less than 24 hours for £95 million, "you either make it in your lifetime or you don't".
2000
  • Culture, reality tv, celebrity and life have a huge impact on art
  • Tracey Emin- unique selling point " self obsession as an art form" and uses art to express herself. She studied fine art and wants art to speak to people directly. She believes 'the message has to be deeper and last longer' therefore 'is not point in shocking'. Emin believes sex is the last taboo of middle classes.
  • Grayson Perry- greatest commentator of how we live today and life in 21st Century Britain. "Sincerity is the only way I can rebel". His artwork(right) shows the traditional image of a women but uses the modern day purse to replace a child. 
  • David Cerny- controversial work and enjoys getting a reaction from the audience. Made a tribute to everyone's favourite bad boy, Damien Hirst,by making a version of Saddam Hussein. He is also known for his controversial sculptures such as two men peeing which can spell anything. Recently he created Entropa (below).




 This documentary has gone over many facts I knew but has really emphasized the idea of being controversial or shocking in modern society and the development through art.

Day 42: Bookmaking

I loved today! I was so excited to try something I had never done before and gain another skill. I found the process itself surprisingly simple if you have all the materials and instructions!
I had some issues in the final stage of putting on the cover as it is so hard to get it exact but as it was my first book I have ever made I wasn't too worried.


I liked the freedom we had to chose the paper, cover and edging but found myself conforming to the classic sketch book with a slight change, my edges. My initial plan was to trim all edges to keep the book neat and tidy but found that when tearing the paper it curled up alot. At first I thought I was doing something awful and got frustrated as it was only happening to mine but I grew to love it and preferred the character it gave the book.