I was still unsure on where to place my armchair, no matter where it seems to go, it just looks out of place. I think it is due to the large size of it. I decided to experiment with placing the chair as if it was watching the projector, to hopefully invite the viewer to take a seat. Where I have placed the chair means the viewer has to lean back to be able to really see the projection clearly unless they’re standing. I am happy with this as it means hopefully the viewer will be more inclined to lean back on the chair meaning they will interact with the hair on the chair…
The only problem with the chair being here is that it does kind of take the effect off of my 30 boards I have which I really don’t want to happen as I feel they are most effect when seen together as a whole, so I don’t really want to have an obstacle too in the way. It isn’t too in the way, but I do feel it is also blocking some of Rebekah’s pieces which I don’t want to do as it isn’t fair on her.
I need to experiment more with the positioning of the chair. It definitely is a lot better used to provoke the viewer into taking a seat to watch the film rather than just put against the wall, too obvious that it is a piece of work. So using the chair in a more inviting way will hopefully encourage the viewer take a seat then notice the hair and feel disgusted that they have sat against it.
So the shelf was a complete disaster. I was adamant that this Perspex shelf would hold my three folders of collections. However turns out it wouldn’t. I spoke to Karl in the morning about how I go about putting up this shelf in terms of screws etc, and he suggested I get some caps which would cover the screw heads which would make it look much nicer. So off to Wilkinson’s I went. Returned with the screws and Karl put it up for me. He suggested that the half with the drill holes needed to be angled up for the shelf rather than down, as it would probably hold the folders better. So this is what we did. However once I put the folders on I could feel the weight of them pressing down on the shelf, which then was obvious it wasn’t going to hold the weight of them. Therefore I hit the problem again how am I going to display them?
Do I forget about them? Which I didn’t really want to do as I felt they linked in quite nicely having a collection that wasn’t actually on show, that is boring, but that is the idea the removal of make-up is boring.
Do I place them on the cabinet? But this would then lose the effect of the cabinet I feel and make two pieces appear as a whole when in fact they are not.
Do I go buy a wider, stronger shelf and have the folders on? This was my next plan, until Karl offered me a plinth he no longer needed. So I decided to try this. We brought it upstairs and while at first it appeared quite large it does in fact work really well in that corner on my space. The plinth is wide enough to have all three folders laid down and one open inviting the viewer to flick through them. I feel it works better as it allows the viewer to rest it on the plinth too, which makes it easier for them and they might feel more obliged to stand and look at them. So after a disastrous beginning it actually turned out for the better thankfully.
Tomorrows plan with the help of Reuben is to set up my projector angled down at my wall and to finish improving my dress then I am done!
I sorted out one of my dresses the other day so thought it was time to do the other.
I needed to make this mannequin match the material look of the other. Therefore using the bed sheet I used to create the fake tan piece, I cut out a section of clean material and sewed it around the mannequin. It isn’t perfect but I feel it works a lot better making the mannequins work as a pair. It took quite a lot of fiddlingwith the material, a glue gun and thread, but I got there in the end. Using the used bed sheet also makes it relate back to me through that as well. The viewer won’t know this as but it’s a bit like a hidden abject part. I suppose it would make some people feel it is disgusting as it is a bed sheet which has been slept on. It’s not really the main focus for that mannequin it is the dress. However, I do feel it does relate well. Does the viewer need to know this? I don’t feel it is important as it’s more about the actual dress.
All that really needed to be done to the dress was to tighten it so it was a better fit to the mannequin, not just hanging limply. The cover has improved it a lot. Although it is nowhere near perfect, or as good as the ready-made one, I feel it is suitable enough for my work. Once I spotted one flaw in the dress I kept spotting more, which ended up in me spending a lot more time than I had planned on adjusting the dress. Hopefully it will be worth it when I finish it tomorrow.
So the floor is now painted which is making my space look a lot brighter. I wanted to get that out of the way so I could have the cabinet in its exact space and could start arranging the contacts in it. Made a newspaper walkway through my space to hopefully prevent people from walking over the clean floor. It will no doubt need touching up before the actual show either way but hopefully will make it a bit easier in the long run.
This now meant I could begin finally putting the cabinet together! I spent the majority of yesterday scraping paint off of the cabinet and polishing it. I found myself still polishing it this morning! I think I have got to the stage that every little imperfection I see on it I have sort it. This then meant it was getting to mid morning before I actually began the arranging! How would I start this arranging?
Well looking back at the idea I did before the contact cases were places staggered. This did work really well but I was tempted to lined them all up dead in line with each other so they would mirror my boards on the wall next door and keep this grid system going. I never really decided on a specific number I would have last time, however, I wanted it to have more specificity in the show. I wanted it to be executed perfectly.
I decided I would have two rows of twenty at the back of each shelf (twenty relating to the age I was when I began collecting the contact lens cases) the row second from the back would then have eighteen due to losing one either end where the shelf curved and the same with the front shelf; it would have sixteen due to the shelf shape. I took absolutely ages getting each row looking exactly the same. I was tempted to measure it, but thought I would probably be there all day. As much as my work follows pattern and repetitive actions now every thing is exactly the same. For example with my boards, on first glance they all look very similar, however, it is only once upon close inspection the viewer is able to see that in fact they are all so different. I wanted my cabinet to represent this too. So in this respect it was important I didn’t measure them.
From first glance they appear all to be the same; a cabinet full of black contact lens cases lined row by row. However, they are not, because I didn’t measure them it gives them this near perfect finish but not quite, which I do quite like. Also some contact lens cases have a plain top on, some have a little writing others have a lot. I didn’t want to get too specific with ordering them as well I just wanted them to be placed as it happened. Just like how my make-up wipes are marked from me removing my make-up, it just happens like that. I wanted my cabinet to reflect this, which I think it does.
I also noticed when working on the bottom shelf and looking up they have a completely different effect all the cases are exactly the same clear/white colour which was quite interesting seeing it in relation to the cabinet. Perhaps they could of worked better upside down? However I do like the contrast between the dark and the light.
I have my projector and the DVD player out, now is the task of finding where it will go. To balance out my work I want to have it on the wall as I feel it gives off a stronger effect on there larger scale. I originally had music on my film but I’m worried that might take the viewers concentration off my work and onto to repetitive music which was behind it. I do feel the music works well with it but due to the film being on loop I feel it may be distracting to the viewer after some time. I spoke to a few people in the studio about it and they said that they felt the music wasn’t necessary as it is the process of what I am doing I am showing and the music isn’t too important to it.
I feel that by having the projection on the wall it will balance everything out so not all my work consists of installations or free standing pieces, and also the scale will give a stronger effect I think. I did some arranging with the projector as to where it would go.
Yet again I encountered another problem. I put the projector under my cabinet and projected into on the long wall. However due to the angle of it it didn’t produce a true rectangle image. So that idea was out.
I tried projecting it onto the small wall near the door where the cabinet currently was to see if it worked over there, however it really wasn’t the right place for a projection I felt. It just completely took over the space and was not right next to the door.
The best place I found was right at the top of my wall as I was able to tilt it to projector down as well as the projector being hidden up, out of the way. Only one problem was getting up there to turn it on and off everyday. I spoke to Reuben today who said it was possible to leave it constantly on, so that solved that problem. I just need to get a piece of wood to be screwed in to make the projector and DVD player safe up there so that they wouldn’t fall down.
That is tomorrows plan!
