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.
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