enough room for space

idea overload. i need to restore order in my brain.

OBJECT
- physical presence an object holds in a room - alterting it's form/arrangement - using multiples
- history of the materials - what connotations do they carry? what is their effect on other objects/materials/spaces?
- taking objects out of context - combining materials/objects to make us question their context
                                          - RICHARD WENTWORTH making do and getting by - public  
                                          sculpture, public involvement, objects out of context, seen by an
                                                    

- true/false imagery - did i place the object there or was it a random act? does it matter? - photograph's of
                                actors crying
                              - object can transform our view of what we are seeing - e.g. photograph of a murder
                                 scene juxtaposed by a bottle of fake blood, makes us question the authenticity. VL Joe
                                Clark - lighting in photographs too precise? too symmetrical?

monkey imagination could not stretch to a tailless existence

it's been a while since i've last posted but i'm alive and i'm inspired.

Lord, don't stop me now...

you're the sun through my window, warming my skin, oh

i miss college :'(

if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.

Life is very much more exciting now than it used to be

I haven't been updating my blog because I have been too busy trying to organise my final piece. I have decided to keep in with the theme of the 'oppression of women' and build a kitchen; the aim is to project the traits of insanity and confinement on to the audience so that they relate to and sympathise with the protogonist in 'The Yellow Wallpaper'.

Alongside working up to my final piece, I am still experimenting physically to explore the theme of isolation. Inspired by Douglas Gordon's 'Monster Reborn', I have taken a series of photos. Clingfilm frightens me.

I think that an installation that is based on experience, exactly like 'Blind Light', needs at least a video as reference, if not a visit! Unfortunately, a visit is out of the question. Below is a video filmed by James Kalm. It is by no means a professional video, but it gives a real insight into how the installation works and how powerful the dry ice effect is. The bit about this installation doesn't start till about 3.24 minutes in.


Polanski's 'Repulsion' is a film that I have come across while researching my final major project. So far I have only seen the trailer, but it seems very relevant, containing themes of insanity, femenism, claustrophobia etc. Here it is if anybody is interested:

see you at the bitter end

I've finally come up with an idea for my final major project; I've decided to base it on a book called The Yellow Wallpaper. It's based around themes of medical science, the oppression of women, isolation, mental illness and although the writing style reminds me of Jane Austen, it is only 15 pages long so it wasn't as torturing as say, Persuasion. In fact, The Yellow Wallpaper is really quite powerful.

I have found plently of artist research to get me started too; Bruce Nauman, Susan Hiller, Ed Kienholz. Although I'm not usually a fan of his work, I think that Antony Gormleys 'Blind Light' is great; He uses dry ice to fill a room, creating a very chlostrophobic atmosphere for the public, who can't see their own hand in front of their face. From the outside, figures can be seen, frantically trying to find a way out. Public involvement in art has always fascinated me, and Gormley's installation does a great job of making the public feel how the artist intended; trapped and anxious.

I wonder how many people have had panic attacks inside, and I wonder what the staff would do.

cardboard love in a digital world

I am seriously lacking inspiration at the moment, I can't seem to get started with anything and it's making me doubt myself.

However, I did find these images. I was less impressed when I found out that they weren't 3D - instead, photographs of varnish in water.

art is anything that is not not art

Michael Landy recently appeared on the Culture show advertising his new 'Art Bin' piece, which is taking place in London. He is inviting artists to recognise their own 'artistic failures' and encouraging them to dispose of them. Famous artists like Damien Hirst and Cornelia Parker have submitted works, which causes me to wonder how much the contents would be worth in total (if they hadn't been smashed up) when the bin is full and how many fantastic pieces have been destroyed for the sake of Landy's ambitious idea to be fulfilled. However, he argues that it is the artists' own responsibility to recognise failure and says that 'nothing is too good' to be disposed of.

On the other hand, anyone is welcome to submit their work and submitting their work to the bin could be the first chance for many upcoming artists to get involved and have their work 'displayed' within a notable gallery. Landy describes it as 'using failure as a route to success'. If anyone is interested, you can apply here to submit your work.

The thing that  irritates me the most about this piece is that Landy has labelled himself 'bin monitor' and decides what does and does not enter the bin. Surely this defeats the idea of each artist recognising their own failures? How badly do you have to have failed to be rejected from Landy's precious bin?

I have very mixed views on this piece and on Landy's more recent pieces in general, I would love to hear other peoples views on this. Maybe he should just go back to drawing with tippex?

death is the essential condition of life

So I guess I should start uploading some of my work. Recently, we were set a project with the title 'Life & Death'. Being a fine artist, I predictably went for a more morbid approach. I started looking at the idea of remembrance and, inspired by Christian Boltanski and Ed Kienholz, decided to create a shrine. The final result was this lightbox, created using photographs of my grandparents' sentimental possessions. The shape of the old suitcase reminds me of a coffin and i feel that this is reinforced by the royal colours and precious materials that i have used.




I am currently developing the project; my plan is to create miniature light boxes by putting LED's in matchboxes. Each matchbox will have a tiny acetate photo in it. So far I have 20 boxes - there is something really beautiful about a mass of objects (proven by Christian Boltanski's installations.) I'll keep you updated on that anyway.

but does it float?

I am required to start a reflective blog for my art & design foundation course, in preparation for university. I have posted a link to my existing blog on a previous post but my posts on that blog aren't very coherent and it is all a bit of a mess tbh. This blog will be a place to track the development of my own work and share inspirations with people on my course, and the wider blogging community.

Below are some pictures I have found on this site. It is basically just a website full of images that people have collected and after trawling through the mass of junk for several hours, you can usually find something pretty exciting.

http://-worsethingshappenatsea.tumblr.com