I have been intending to write this post for some time but i never seem to get round to putting this one down.
its to do with how my work influences me. well more to do with the way the written word has influenced me over the past year or so. i have found, like most things in my life, the influences around me affect my choices. like all people. from working with books i have started to glance through them. from doing this i have looked at many different authors styles of writing some have gone right over my head i and am no the wiser what the book is about from the moment i pick it up to the moment i put it down. (these books are more often than not the ones that find there way on a date with power tools.) but some books i seem to just get. some of them i feel a connection to. i just get them. more often than not they are biographies. I feel there is something special with a story of a person’s life. like an honest account of a situation.
but a book that i have just got. a book that gave me the opportunity to say just do it. a book that i found to open the door and show me the light. the book that said just be you. was this book…
this book although i will admit i haven’t read from start to finish. i just loved the style in which it’s written is simple yet effective. now i know, i said i like bibliographies and some people maybe confused as Ron burgundy, is just a character. and yes your right. but he is written as if he is speaking. the goes off topic and loses his train of thought and that’s ok. the message is still there. and i feel like i can relate to this. because i spend so much time going over my work paragraph by pharoghrape trying to remove all the red lines checking my grammar. ( like a lot of people probably do) i often forget what it was that i was trying to say and i end up just sitting here looking at the screen with a blank look on my face trying to remember my point.
this book does exactly the same, and when the point has been remembered its brought back into topic. it gave me the confidence to say well if a book like this can be published and that is acceptable then, hell i can give it a go.
flicking through the pages of a glossy, clean, unbent magazine; there was an article talking about a show on in london. the works of Mel Bochner someone who i have been looking at in my work and i have used a lot in my sketchbook. great i though i’m heading home next week i can pop in and see the show.
in typical fashion, as we all do my mind starts racing i’m planning out my journey how i’m going to get there and how i intended making space i’m my time table so i could see it. i don’t even bother to get the the halfway point of the article; let alone the end. when it pops into my mind that i best double check if the show isn’t out of date.
i glance round the page, confident that it will be. after all it would appear to be a new magazine. i see the date the day looks good. my confidence is up. the month looks some what promising. then the year… ow the year, it’s at this point i’d love to be writing and saying my next post will be a review of the show. unfortunately i won’t be doing that. as the show was in 2012. yes that’s right the magazine i had been flicking through was 4 years out of date.
but on the plus side i got to see the article. took a photo of it.
My trip to the 1st site gallery was on the Thursday 31st of March. we saw some very interesting works there including words from Andy warhol.the show itself was put on as a collection of work that had been inspired by his work. as you walk around the show you feel uncontrollably pushed from one moment in time to enougher. you feel as though you are walking through a moment of history with the work advancing just like technology. the way in which artist have used to push there work further but keeping in time with the POP show.
one of the works that caught my eye was a collection of magazine covers. i love the way the work was so crisp so cutting and is still the way magazines are laid out ot day. the magazines span 2 years starting in January 1979 – july 1981. Be it a small collection spaced over only a year and a half it gives you a strong glimpse into the world of advertising in this moment in time.
the bold colours leap of the page capturing the viewer’s eye. with a feeling of overpowering bright bold colours (well taking into consideration the technology for mass market production, naturally the colours are far more superior now with things like laser jet printing.) that almost push the viewer back and say, look directly at me nothing else matters right now. and this is only the background. the foreground holds a softer approach showing the use more pastel colour that shows the viewer more detail. with its softer approach tied in with the strong bold statement of the background does well and truly make the hole thing “pop”. the collection of covers span from January 1979 – july 1981. Be it a small collection, spaced over only a year and a half you have enough visual imagerie to build up a picture as to what art was saying to the general public at this moment in time.
the image that stood out to me the most was this particular one. cabinet was the first image. (although i will admit it was the last image that i saw.) it did make a strong bold statement holding my eye for the longest amount of time. this had to be because of the background. the way the yellows blues and pinks glistened across the background in diagonal strokes made the blueness of the eyes of Linda Hutton eyes and cherry red lips do exactly what they was meant to do POP.
yes the mouth is a tad out of proportion with the rest of the face and makes the teeth look like a major part of the focus point, but this radiates character and makes you feel more of a connection with the image. the hand centers the image making you feel like she is relaxed showing her glamour making you want to pick it up and read it. the title isn’t over powering its font is a little hard to read. (not to sure if that’s just me though) placed at the top of the page. the title is in the foreground and used drop shadow to make it stand out and make it eye catching.this use of shadow helps the title not get lost in Linda Hutton hair.
My reflections on the auction that we had to raise money for our end of year degree show.In short i must say the entier show went very well we was able to raise a lot of money (£8000) give or take a few pounds. We had some amazing works donated to use by people such a sarah lucas and Billy Childish.The whole class had a role to play in making the show run smoothly. it was weeks of preparation, with a few busy days running around trying to set all the work up. making sure it was evenly spaced and well presented. I found myself working with India as I always do, we made quite the team making sure all the work was hanging well in our section.
The day of the auction everyone was dressed in black and we set up the last little bits before our guests arrived was finished such as the bar, the health and safety talk and our team talk when this was all done. our guests started to arrive, I think I speak for most of us when I say, I felt relieved when the 1st wave of guessed shows up. I finally felt like it was happening.
we gave our guests an hour to mingle and wander round, look at the work that was up for grabs. before taking them into the auction room. The wait outside the room once all the guests had been seated, was actually rather nerve racking. we could hear them laughing which made it all rather odd.
once the work went in we all finally got to see what was going on one at a time ( if you was taking the work in that was). it was only then I realised what it was they were all laughing at. it was the auctioneer. he was rather funny.
as soon as the work was sold we had to carry it over as quickly as we could to the wrapping department so the work could be labeled as to who bought them. Then we was off to get the next bit of work and take it in.
the whole thing was a rather fun experience and went really well.
Apparently this auction was one of the most successful the fine art department has ever done.
Today when making my website I found myself pulling pages out of a writing pad in frustration as I wasn’t able to do what I wanted to do. I was screwing the page up into a ball and then flattening it out, as a way to calm myself down.
I went on to do this a number of times before I actually realised what it was I was actually doing. I soon found myself becoming distracted and photographing the outcome of the website. after looking at different ways of positioning the screwed up balls and photographing them I started playing around with filters and looking at how the shadows were being changed by the filter.
The action that was taken to create this was frustration and the feeling of anxiety of it all going wrong. This screwed up ball was the tangible evidence of my feelings towards what I would have to write and put up online for the whole world to see.
I then started to wonder if anyone else had done this in the past. or if there was any reason why people choose to do this when they are frustrated with something. after all i know i’m not the only person that does this when they can’t do something.
this lead me on to find Martin Creed and his work.
Martin Creed, Work No. 88, A sheet of A4 paper crumpled into a ball, 1995
My thoughts on the work are that it is plane simple yet effective in putting across a message. I porticually like the use of shadow and the way in witch it gives more depth to the work. this showing more about a statement and how the work is plainly titled . this has mad me as a viewer think that perhaps less is more and as a person that likes to make statements with my work. this has give me a lot of food for thought.
I feel that i can make a connection between my work and Martin Creed, Work No. 88 because of the lighting. it is dimly lit. This is very simmiler to my black and white copy’s. using shadow and the fixed line of the paper creates sharp edges and folds. this i find holds my eye and i fine it more interesting to look at.
