Proposal for the degree show

Domesticated Spectacle Vs. Pink Shrimp - A short Film

The exhibiton in the East Gallery was Two Lives in Colour: Celebrating the Fred Dubery and Joanne Brogden scholarships at NUA. The work in the show was mainly paintings which are quite figurative and curated traditionally in frames. There were a couple of textiles and fashion bases pieces, and overall I think the whole exhibiton really contrasted with my pieces which are obviously quite abstracted. I did think the Orla Kelli show prior to Two Lives in Colour would have been better because the handbags were fun which fit with the impression I wanted to get from the audience and I think they would have been easier to pretend to steal.
I think if I made a fake gallery space it would be better because then the robber could actually take the work off the wall and run away with it.

The wearers cannot see at all. Like at all. Which obviously made it hard for me to show them exactly what I wanted and it made them feel like they couldn't perform as well as they could've done if they had been able to see. One of the ways we discussed to counter this would be to insert a mesh panel of the same colour as the rest of the spectacle underneath the flaps as level with the eye as possible. Whilst this would mean that you might be able to see a bit of the face, the alien feel would still come across. However somehow I feel this would corrupt the integrity of my pieces as one of the reasons I make them the way I make them is because I enjoy the fact that the audience cant see. It was difficult to get consistent lighting in the gallery, and whilst I tried to edit this in post it is obvious that some scenes look much clearer. I should note that if I now decide I want to do some more filming then the lighting will not be the same as it would be on a different day.

Ultimately I had a vision of how this short movie would turn out - I thought it would be bright and colourful and funny and whilst it was definitely enjoyable to make I need more time to perfect my filming and editing skills - and I dont want to spend my time trying to perfect new skills when I could be focusing my energy on the good craft skills I already have.

ALWAYS SAVEEEEEE - halfway through editing I pressed a button accidentally and everything disappeared. It was a nightmare and I couldnt get it back the way it was because I hadnt saved it!

I thought I wanted a burglar type melody in the background something that sounded ominous and sneaky but because I was finding sounds online that didn't have copyright they sounded too polished and finished when paired with my experimental film. I think I need to compose my own sounds that enhance the comical aspect of the film. How would different sounds or music change the meaning of the video??

Is there a strong enough narrative? I think the narrative is definitely stronger when both characters are in shot, as there characters can play off each other, which is good because in the degree show I picture them working together. Does it even need a narrative? I think the narrative couldve been stronger if my filming and editing skills were better - HOWEVER at the same time Fischli and Weiss's work has a loose narrative that is often confusing, so I can definitely draw parallels between my work and theirs. Whilst the narrative might not have been as strong as I had thought, the spectacles definitely worked well together when they were both in shot as their characters played off each other. The 'flaps' (gloves and the stripes), helped to create another layer of movement, which helped to develop the spectacles characters.

I think I directed my actors to make them act too 'human'. By that I mean that the natural movement of the spectacle would have made them look more otherworldly, but because I added movements like looking at watches and pointing guns then it all looked too human. This was probably enhanced by the gallery environment. Although I had planned this film to be in a gallery setting and have a toy gun prop, I can now look back and realise that this is not the environment my spectacles should be in. I think they need to be outside in a more natural setting. I also know now from making this film that documenting my spectacles in this way is not what I want for the degree show, but at least I have some really good stills from the film that will be supporting evidence.

https://youtu.be/-BbcROEByXA (copy and paste for video)

Tutorial with Sarah

Filming outside! - After wall to wall I have realised that the documentation of my work is more important to me than curating any live performance based pieces. I am continuing to think about my work in different contexts and how my work can be documented not just in the gallery but in spaces outside. For example how would the meaning of my work be changed if it was documented in a play park as opposed to in a forest where my spectacles could be more ambiguous. The ambiguous nature of a forest or natural envinorment could definitely be more beneficial in achieving the alien nature that I want my work to have, especially if I am thinking of my work in a festival context as most festivals are set in an outside natural environment. 

Wall to Wall Final Discussion

Although this exhibition has been a rather social exhibition because everyone is working in the same space I feel I have missed out on this part of the show because I have been doing most of my work in my studio where my sewing machine is. I feel like I should have spent more time working within the exhibition space around others, especially with the painters whose work I have been responding to, as I this could have led to interesting discussions about where my work could go. After speaking to the artists in the final discussion it was agreed that most people had no idea what the artists on the adjoining sides of their work had planned, and that most of the artists did not discuss any potential collaborations for the parts where their walls met. Having said this, it was interesting to see that the artists on the right side of the space as you walk in had used similar colours that alternated; blues and yellows. 

I realised halfway through the show that the work that I found easiest to respond to was the more abstracted paintings, as the drawings that I work from are more abstracted so I am more comfortable responding this kind of work. Having said this it was good to push myself out of my comfort zone and try working in a different way, even though this is not something I feel I will pursue moving forward for the degree show. During this exhibition, as I was making work quite quickly and needed to document it quite quickly before work was painted over, I realised how difficult it is when I do not have someone as an 'assistant', which means that the documentation of my work was not as good quality as it could be. Leading up to the degree show I will have to make sure all of my documentation is up to a high standard so that I am prepared for the degree show. 

One of the works that I am most interested in responding to is Jiji's, who has created a painting on canvas based on audience participation. She got people to lay or position themselves on the canvas then draw round them loosely, creating abstracted figures that overlap in bright colours. I have not had time during the exhibition to respond to this work but Jiji is planning on working on the same piece in her upcoming show in PS1 next week, so I will have time to respond to it should I choose to.  

Work in student/staff show - Curve

My sketchbook was part of a collection of sketchbooks for the audience to read curated by Bethany Freer. The sketchbook is an important tool for documenting and reflecting, and they offer an interesting insight into an artists creative process. Bethany was more interested in the drawings that were never realised into 3D works, which was good for me because it gave me a chance to look back at old works and see if there were any possibilities to take things further. Having my work in Curve has also reinforced the importance of my drawings, and how they stand alone as works in their own right as well as a developmental process. 

Wall to Wall - A Domesticated Spectacle

I found it instantly inspiring to make a spectacle when I saw this painting on the wall because of its abstract qualities. I chose the fabric based on its colour but also it has a texture that is similar to fisherman raincoats - its a heavy fabric that will hold its shape when worn on the body. I now realise that when inside this material that whilst it is not claustrophobic and hot like the felt it does have an interesting smell that isnt axctually all the nice for the wearer. The fabric that I choose for the main shape of my spectacles has to be thick enough and weighted enough to hold its own shape, which is why I choose to work with materials such as felt, but maybe it is time to be thinking about the comfort level for the wearer. Especially if I am making films, and the wearer has to be inside the spectacle for long periods of time, I should make the spectacle at least a little bit more wearable. 

I knew the shape of the yellow oval was the main basis for my work in response to this painting, but I thought that if I just had a yellow oval of material it would lack depth and wouldnt be as visually interesting. I know that I want some of the pieces I make for this exibtion to feature in the short film I am making next week (see proposal in past blog post), so I needed the spectacles for this show to stand as spectacles in their own right and not just when around the paintings. I was thinking back to the shrimp spectacle I made in the past unit and how I added texture with striped flaps. Rubber marigold gloves have an very tactile texture and are also a recognisable fabric that most people cant relate to. I like what Johnathon Baldock said in his lecture about fabric being the only material that most people can relate to instantly because it is the only fabric that we are all familiar with on a day to day basic because of our clothes. Initially I had just wanted to stitch the gloves in rows along the length of the oval, with the fingers down so that they could flap around when movement was made. However when I had pinned them all I had the idea to make the spectacle more interactive by having cuts in the material where the opening of the gloves are so that the wearer can put their hands through and wear the gloves. Having this adds another dimention to the work as the wearer is physically becoming the specactle and the spectacle is fully consuming the wearer. They are one. Having the gloves wearable also makes it easier for the wearer to control the spectacle. For the audience, the gloves add another level of humour to the piece, as it makes it look very alien. Because it is all yellow when the gloves are worn it actually very discombobulating for the eye. I knew the oval had to have a black tube like object coming out of it. I visualised initally a foil ventilation air duct coming out of the top and going all the way down to rest on the floor, but the logistics of obtaining one of these in time for the show proved difficult. Instead I kept with the household objects and got an old black hoover tube which has the tube like texture that I wanted and responds directly to the solid black line in the painting. The tube is removable, and the wearer can hold it in place so it is more upright but they don't have to. I think the combination of the fisherman jacket type material with the rubber gloves and the black hoover tube coming out of the top makes the spectacle have a domesticated feel. A very domesticated spectacle. 

I wanted to document the spectacle directly infront of the painting, the body slightly tilted to get the right angle of the painting. 

This is the only piece of the work for the show that has turned out exactly how I imagined, the other were more experimental. Because of this I have put more emphasis on this piece of work and have not made as many pieces as I intitially had planned. Whilst I overestimated the amount of work I could achieve in the time I am happy with the work I have produced because I have worked in a different way, and have explored different possible materials. There is a clear distinction between the static photographs of my work and the videos which have the movement of the spectacles in. I am not sure which one I want to place more importance in, but I am now aware of the difference. The photographs of my spectacles are intriguing to the viewer because it is not clear what is going on or whether there is a person inside. In the videos my spectacles are more comical, and are essentially more weird and wonderful to the viewer.

This exhibition has made me think very carefully about the documentation of my work. I think the important part for me of these spectacles now is the filming of them and how I then present that film rather than the live action or movement being the artwork. Especially for the domesticated spectacle the final photographs of it for me are the finished artwork, even though I enjoy the movement of it, I think for this exhibition the static photo works better. 

Wall to Wall - Red Lips

I found it difficult to respond to work initially as the painters work who started first were all quite figurative and I usually make spectacles based on abstracted drawings. Emilias work, the giant gash across the wall, was intitally not one I wanted to work with, but as she was one of the first to start painting I thought I would try and tackle responding to such a difficult and irregular shaped form. I thought about making something to go fully across the body but instead decided to focus on one section of the cut that will cover the face. I chose materials that I thought reflected the painting and its grotesque yet seductive subject matter which I why I have used silks, mesh and leather to try and created the different shades of reds. The brush strokes are visible in the painting and I wanted my piece to reflect this and have 'loose' marks of material. I think this could have been achieved better with more layering of different textures. I think the different materials make it quite confusing to the eye but also intrigue the viewer, as they are all quite tactile textures, and whilst it doesnt quite match the colour of the painting I think it still works when viewed from afar. To exaggerate this notion of the beautiful grotesque that I know Emilia wants to show in her work I think it would be exciting to cut a small hole in the centre of this piece then squirt ketchup out of it to make it look like blood oozing out of the cut. I think this will be gross but also be quite funny for the viewer. 

As it happens I did not have time to do the ketchup experiment before Emilia painted over her wall, but I was pleasantly surprised by how my work looked when infront of the painting. Whilst it does not camouflage completely, it adds a depth to the painting that was not there before because of the porous` and flat nature of the wall.