LABEL

Name: Molly Taylor

Titles: A Very Domesticated Spectacle; Parrot; Bath Martian

Materials: Bath mat, Hoover, Marigolds, Fabric, Foam, Tree

Statement: 

After a hard wobble in the dance, three spectacles in their finery skip away from the music to gaze on the wonder of the scene before them - an otherworldly escape filled with colour and laughter, patterns and stars - a brief moment of calm and clarity before returning once more to the weird and wonderful world of the festival. 

As one of the things I said I would improve on if I could in the degree show was making the scene more specific to a festival scene, I wanted to see if this could be done through the statement on the label. I have written it in this way as a sort of story, to help set the scene for the audience so they can try imagine what my spectacles would look like in their rightful context.

LINK TO RESEARCH FILE

https://yllomtresearchfile.blogspot.com/

DEGREE SHOW EVALUATION

After Pirate Ball I was finding it hard to imagine my work inside a white cube gallery space as it was so successful when it was outside in the environment I intended it to be shown in. Having said this, it all came together quicker and better than I imagined and I think this is down to the other surrounding works. Having more colour in the room definitely helps bring my work to life and gives it a final playful element. The surrounding works are all so varied and alongside mine it really brings together my idea of 'more is more', without it being too chaotic. One of the things I would change would have to been to explore how I could have increased the festival atmosphere - for example trying out how festival detritus looked on the floor or maybe having lights strung in and around the trees. I would have also liked to have spent longer on the Bath Martian, as I think it is apparent that it is not as fully realised and developed as the other two spectacles. Having said this, it was the right decision to not use an older piece of work, as it forced me to develop my problem solving skills and pushed me to work harder for a better outcome. What I think it good about it is that each individual element - even the trees - are spectacles in their own right and would stand alone as curious and ridiculous pieces without the other elements. In particular, the Domesticated Spectacle, who's character has developed over the unit through many different contexts and situations. What Harriet has written in her space -'Everything you NEED to shout about' - is talking about being loud and explicit. The colours and subject matter of my work compliment this, as they are loud and bold. I think this is an interesting comparison and accidental curational triamph. The pink and yellow of Harriets piece also nearly matches the pink and yellow of my domesticated spectacle which allows the two works to bounce off each other.

DEGREE SHOW INSTALL

My original space was SG64 which I was happy with because all the rooms along that side of the building are really light, which is ideal for helping my work look as bright and as colourful as it can be. I have now moved to SG62, which is along the same side so it has similar light conditions, because Bethany's piece of work was obscuring the view of a large scale painting in that room. My work now is surrounded by lots of colourful pieces, which I think enhances the playful nature of my work and really aid the creation of a festival like atmosphere. There is a definite correlation between the works of Chloe and Harriet, as their works rely on very clear shapes and large areas of block colour. My work too has this as I often work from drawings involving a singular shape of block colour. I think this is what helps to make my piece feel as though it is a part of the room and a calculated curational decision, instead of it existing as a singular entity. 

As I had set everything up in the garden prior to install, I knew sort of how I wanted it to be. The main problem I encountered when installing was the tallness of the black and white spectacle - which I have begun calling 'Bath Martian' - it was nearly as tall as the trees and I didn't feel like it sat right amongst the branches. Everything was easily 'fixable', in the sense that if I changed the stand, took it apart and didn't like it, I could easily put it back together again (a benefit of using hat stands with interchangeable parts); this meant that I was able to play around with different heights and widths of the stands to change how the spectacles stood. I think the shorter stand is stronger because it makes the Bath Martian look more ambiguous. Is it a child? Or someone kneeling? It is difficult to imagine a body underneath it because of the height, yet it still suggests at it. When the Bath Martian was taller, it lacked movement as it stretched the wavy pattern out so that it looked almost too rigid. By shortening it, there is movement in the fabric as well as the movement of the pattern, so it looks less staged and static. 

Halfway through install Carl suggested I stop painting the bases the same colour as the floor and leave some of the wood coming through. I realise that leaving it like this, with the spray paint and dirt and dust all still clearly visible will make it look less staged, like the whole scene has just strolled into the room, looked around, before continuing on its way. As I have left cable ties and tape and chicken wire all exposed on the trees, as well as unfinished hems and loose threads, I think if i had continued painting that would have been the only 'finished' part of the scene, and it might have looked out of place. Not having matching stands for each of the three stands also helps make it not to look staged. 

(see degree show evaluation post for more pictures)

CAREER PACK - CV/BUSINESS CARDS

(Screenshot of Artist CV)

 (screenshot of business cards, they will come in time for the degree show opening but not in time for hand in)

Setting it all up in the garden

I have decided to keep the black and white spectacle, even though it is not as strong as the other two as I didnt have time to fully realise it. The black and white balances out all the bright colours surrounding it and makes it stand out in its own way against the other spectacles. I think that spectacle has to stand central as it is the tallest, although as it is not the strongest I don't want the focus to be solely on that one. There is so much going on though I doubt this will be an issue when it is all installed in the space. I wondered whether the green roof could resemble grass and whether this would add anything to the piece. By having something on the floor it makes the spectacles look too static - I want them to look like they just wandered into a forest, not like they are stopped and having a picnic.

Playing around with potentially using the green roof as an element. I think this looks like it is a religious figure.. so maybe not

I wanted to double check that the original spectacle definitely wasnt usable. This looks too much like a head, a top and a skirt and resembles a woman. I want the spectacles to be ambiguous and suggest the body subtly. 

 I thought about whether to take the black and white spectacle out completely and just have the two. There is something nice about having three though as it looks more like a gathering of spectacles that are having a conversation rather than one just leading another through the trees.

A very domesticated spectacle goes to a party

I didn't want to change the domesticated spectacle dramatically, but as I'm setting up a festival scene I thought it needed to dress for the occasion. By using a pair of pink marigolds instead of the ordinary yellow ones, I think it is like the spectacle has put on a pair of evening gloves, but it still doesnt change one of the fundamental elements of the piece. I played around alot with the placement, and the one I ended up with I chose because I think it looks like a pair of eyes, and gives it another level of ambiguity; is it supposed to be a face? I did consider stuffing the pink gloves so that the hands stick out and away from the main body of it but when stuffed they were too heavy and made the rest of the piece look out of place.

chosen placement

Significance of Hat Racks

I have realised that in every spectacle I have used some sort of domestic item – the rubber gloves and hoover, the expanding foam of the parrot beak, and the sofa cover as the main body of material alongside the bathmat headpiece for the final spectacle. I used my hat stand in the ‘Life in Colour’ exhibition, so I know that they can be adapted to show my spectacles in different ways. I thought about showing the spectacles on mannequins, and as they are designed for the body this seemed like the logical choice. However, mannequins are typically associated with fashion and clothing, and if my work was shown on one then in the audiences mind they would automatically assume that they too are fashion based. Whilst I know that they are meant for the body, I enjoy the fact that the hat racks just suggest that they are wearable without being too obvious. 

MAUI WAUI - A PIRATES BALL - Spectacle and Career Development

Wearing the parrot at the Pirate Ball was the first time I had worn both the poncho and the beak together and I was amazed by how well they worked together. The decision to paint the beak with natural colours was the right one, as it made the colours of the poncho that much more vibrant and vivid. The beak really pulled the whole spectacle together; individually the different elements are not as strong. The beak was so lightweight and it stayed on with only one strip of elastic, no matter now much I danced and walked around. This event was the perfect size to showcase work as it is such a small site, which fosters a strong sense of community between festival goers, who kept asking me questions about what I was wearing and how I made it. On the whole, because it was a pirate theme, noone questioned why I was a parrot; the main question I got during the time I was wearing it was 'can you see?'. When I told people I couldn't see mostly their response was to laugh, and whilst this was a reaction I expected, I think for future spectacles that are specifically for festivals I should consider making slight adjustments so that I can see where I a walking. This is mainly because I had to keep lifting up the beak to walk across the site, as I didn't want to trip over any rogue tree stumps. 'Laughter has a deep philosophical meaning, it is one of the essential forms of the truth concerning the world as a whole, concerning history and man; it is a peculiar point of view relative to the world; the world is seen anew, no less (and perhaps more) profoundly than when seen from a serious standpoint' (Bakhtin, 1984, p.66) - the laughter that came from my spectacle was a true reaction, and if I have shifted people's view of the world and made them think less seriously about the world, even if only temporarily, then I have succeeded. 

This is the first time that a spectacle of mine has been worn in the context it was designed for, and it really confirmed for me that festival costume and attire is the career path that I want to pursue after I graduate. The active environment of a festival allows for audience engagement without the confines of a gallery space, and they don't have to try to understand what the work is about - they can simply look, watch and appreciate. Music performance would transform itself, by developing spectacle, amplifying personalities and heightening the semblance of spontaneity (Thornton, 1999, p.77). Movement is an important part of my work and the constant music meant that I was able to dance and show the parrot to its full potential. The music allowed the parrot to develop and reach its full potential. 'Within the spectacle there is no distinction between actors and spectators because the audience live within it' (Bakhtin, 1984, p.7) My research into the spectacle was so apparent at pirate ball and it really reinforced my reasonings behind calling my work spectacles. When I was wearing the parrot, I was living within the spectacle of the festival and becoming an established part of the festival, more so than if I had just been attending.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMgOBt5ueSw&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1Q_0c6WwR1ZUwdllSY3xlbAC-OBeplyHZbETQLysdgFdeP5GyJ9P4VEyE