Frieze art fair was completely mad. There was so much to see… I woke up the next day with what felt like an art hangover. I’m really glad I went to have a look, and there were several works that really inspired me (and many, many more that left me completely baffled!). I enjoyed just milling around, dipping in and out of the spaces that caught my attention, and so for me it was totally worth it (although the amount of money that some people have to spend was an eye opener too).
I feel like my ideas for practical work are changing all the time and I don’t have enough time to try them all out… I guess this is a case of being more selective about which paths to go down.
My ideas regarding memories have evolved into an exploration of what happens to thoughts and memories after death; this has led to looking at the cycle of life (this is where the “cells” animation comes in) and an interest in microcosmic/macrocosmic structures.
I’ve been pretty busy collecting things; I picked up some great vintage books from Oxfam (a 1940s midwifery handbook and some gorgeous illustrated children’s books) and have been rummaging through my mum’s box of old photographs for some image sources. I’ve ordered a microscope, which I am hoping to use to enlarge things (obviously!) for using as starting points for some drawings (I’m hoping it works ok… it’s only a children’s ‘toy’ one – I thought my boys could have it when I’ve done!). I’ve also bought an old ‘View Master’ off eBay, which I plan on making some reels for, using my own drawings – I thought this would be an intimate, novel way for the viewers to look at my work. It’s probably been done before, but nevermind. I like its instant connection to childhood, and how the viewer is completely visually immersed in the image. Also, potentially, it could be like a really slowed down version of the stop motion animation I’ve been working on. I’ve found a website that shows you how to make your own DIY reels so I’ll be having a go at that!
In my mind, I am still planing on creating the layered structures that I discussed in my first post – I am just working on the individual layers at the moment. The plan is for it to all come together in the one structure. Not sure how yet.
The dissertation is taking shape – hoorah. There’s a lot of words now but I need to spend some time reorganising some of it. Despite what I thought was meticulous section planning, I think I may have gone off on a few too many tangents…
At college, we have been experiencing the same frustrations as the past two years – all technology/computer related (and the fact that nothing seems to work as it should). Thankfully, everything seems to be sorted now, and I am getting to grips with using Premiere to animate a sequence of chalk drawings. This is intended as a ‘test’ animation (before attempting a longer version) although I had not anticipated it to be so time consuming.
I have several other ideas buzzing around, but am very conscious of the pressure to produce ‘good stuff’ now that I’m in the final year (whatever ‘good’ means… ) and it seems to be making me nervous. I’m full of self-doubt at the moment.
On a positive note, I’m going to Frieze for the first time on Thursday – I’m intrigued as to what it will be like. If I have enough time, I’d really like to go to ‘The Future Can Wait’ in Shoreditch too, but that might be pushing it.. I need to be home in time to pick my boys up from after-school club!
“…what is the point of mining the past if not to tell us something significant and potentially useful about the present, and to allow us to realize our roles as agents within it?”
(Vivian Rehberg, “Shock of the Old: What can the past do for the present?”, p.19 Frieze Oct 2010)
Although this was written in a slightly different context (mining art history rather than personal history), I have been thinking about it all day. I feel it is applicable to my own practice, in which I am constantly looking back into my memories of childhood; what is the point of mining my own past unless it can tell me “something significant and potentially useful” about my present? Furthermore, how can I ensure that the outcomes I produce from “mining” my past will be interesting and/or relevant to the viewer? Should my work aim to tell the viewer “something significant and potentially useful”? I need to keep these questions in mind whilst planning my work.
The third and final year has started… I had been worrying about feeling rather unprepared, but after a tutorial, and meeting up with my fellow students, I’m feeling so much more positive and can’t wait to get started on some studio work.
My previous work has mostly fallen into 2 categories; 3D papier-mâché ‘boxes’ that were layered with fragments of text, images, found materials, and lo-fi stop motion animations, both of which explored reconstructing narratives within old memories and dreams. I am now beginning work on combining the two to create a layered structure that contains screens for animations. I am also thinking about involving some sort of mechanical process – perhaps automata style – but have no technical experience of this so some further research is needed…
Since this is my final year, I really want to get the most out of the facilities that the college has to offer, and to push myself to try out ideas that I might have shied away from over the previous two years. Exciting stuff.
In two weeks time, I will officially be a ‘third year’. How mad is that?!
We have been asked over summer to write a draft of our dissertation. Unfortunately, due to a recent house move (with the new house needing serious redecoration) and my decision not to book any form of childcare for either of my children over the entire summer, I have had little time to do any actual writing. At the rate I am going, I shall have a lovely long bibliography but a teeny tiny word count. I am trying not to stress out over this…
