Some Rich Young People In Leeds Never Carry A Crystal Guitar Or Come Along To The Library This Summer
Landscape (week two)
Exquisite Corpses (week one)
Distructure (week four)
Wordimation Project
"She tied you to her kitchen chair, and she broke your throne and she cut your hair"
She
tied
you
to
her
kitchen
chair,
and
she
broke
your
throne
and
she
cut
your
hair.Evaluation of "A Day In The Life" video:
This particualr task was, I believe, a step towards, as well as piece of inspiration that we in small groups created in the lead up to producing our final Wordimation video this project. In our small groups, each group were given two lines from the song by the Beatles.
With these lyrics we had to take each word at a time and film a small sequence demonstrating that word approapriatly. When then had to gather a copy of all the videos so by the end of the first session in doing this, each memeber of the group had them available at hand somewhere safe. In the second, although some, including myself, began in the first, we had to edit them and by using Abode Premier which we also have at college, put all the little clips together in chronological order. By using video transition effects as well as simply video effects in general, we could enhance the professionalism of our work.
I liked mine a lot when placed with other music, particularly "Crack A Bottle" by Eminem although they are both clearly unrelated. In the end I found out that I had to actually record ourselves saying the lyrics over the vido. Nevertheless, I don't like recording myself talking and I was unable to download the song so I recorded the ambience in the classroom and slowed it down to the full length of the track so you couldn't identify what my classmates were saying (one swore really loudly by the way, so it was necessary as far as I'm concerned). I am slightly disappointed as I would have liked to use my own choice of audio; but apart from that I am fairly happy with what I was able to achieve in such a short space of time.
Evaluation of the final Wordimation Video
We began again small groups and walked around the college while asking random students random questions like: "What did you do the first time you were drunk?" Or "What happened in a dream you can remember?". We were aiming for random things, descriptions and connecting words, particulary "and" and "but". With these pieces of audio, individually, we cropped them down and put them together again in a random order to create a new kind of account that still made sense but was weird.
With the monologue I created about someone's crazy day, drunk on Jack Daniels that they bought at Sainsbury's; Iwrote out what had been said and chopped it down again, only this time so I could create an animation that would show on screen while the audio was playing. There were many options that you could use that we were shown examples of at the beginning of the project, like having the words appear on screen at the same time as they were being spoken. Personally I felt this was a little too similar and common. I like a challenge so when I split up the script, I took each section and by using images found on Google and Bing, produced sketches that would coincide with each. I then filmed myself copying these sketches but tried to ensure that you could only see my hand, the shadow produced by my hand on the paper on the paper itself. Although, this took a long time, afetrwards I edited each indiviual film and tmed it to play the coinciding clips at the right times.
Like with the film for "A Day In The Life", I am fairly pleased with the end result, although my hand was overlapping with the image a considerable amount which made the drawing unclear at some points; I tried to avoid this problem to some account by taking bits of the film when my hand is away and lengthing them. This is all done on Premier. I also recieved a lot of good critique from my teachers and peers about it as it demonstrates all my abilities.
Chumbawamba Project
For this particular project I am required to develop and produce at least one poster design for an A2, 3 colour print based on the lyrics of either "Ratatatay" or "Tubthumping (1997)" by the British pop group Chumbawamba.
For the first task in this project I was required to write at least 450 words, in my own words about the work of 3 conceptual artists and the movement of Dadaism. Here is what I wrote:
Dadaism
(Dada)
This cultural, and later well
recognised inspirational movement began post-World War One and
affected both literature (particularly with regards to poetry),
theatre, graphic design as well as the visual arts. Dadaism, at the
time, was described as not an art but an “anti-art”. It was a
form of protest against what Dadaists thought was an intellectual
rigidity with regards to both the arts, as well as society in general
during the War period.
Above all, however, Dadaists hoped
to represent the opposite to that of art before its establishment. As
artists were commonly concerned with the way their pieces looked and
ensuring they were aesthetically pleasing to the eye, Dadaists
couldn't have cared less. Similarly, art, also was generally depicted
of having a concealed message, what Dadaists strived to have no
meaning. On the contrary, the whole success of the Dada movement was
dependent on the viewer.
Dadaism, not only later influenced movements like Surrealism, but also the work of some of the most influential conceptual artists of all time: Duchamp, Damien Hirst and Bill Viola.
Marcel
Duchamp
Duchamp was a French painter and
mixed media artist. He, too, was closely associated with the
movements of: Cubism, Dadaism and Surrealism, yet he avoided
specifically being influenced one more than the other. Through his
few pieces of artwork, he hoped to challenge general public opinion
about what art processes make a piece successful, and the way artwork
is presented. He intended to accomplish this, not by writing but
through planned actions which he took which he hoped would influence,
dominate, displace and affect the decisions and actions of others.
An example of one of these planned
actions was his piece entitled: “Fountain” (image of the original
above) in 1917, New York. It has now become one of the most
influential works of the twentieth century, yet only a select few
have actually ever seen it before it vanished, shortly after its
unveiling. The vanishing of this piece of artwork, I feel could be
connected to the fact that it created a lot of controversy. It
intrigued some yet repulsed others
Damien
Hirst
Bill
Viola
At a later date I expanded my research and re-wrote that I had written previously but adding more detail as I went along. I did this extra research as I felt I hadn't wrote enough the first time:
Dadaism
(Dada)
Dadaism was a very cultural, a very inspirational and consequently, a very well renowned movement. It initially began Post-World War One and impacted not only graphic design, but also: literature (particularly with regards to poetry), theatre and the visual arts as well.
Dadaism, at the time it was established, was considered not as an art, but as an “anti-art” movement. It was used as a form of protest against what Dadaists believed was an intellectually driven rigidity with regards to both the arts, as well as what was expected of those within society during the Inter-War Period (the term “Inter-War Period” is a term that refers to the years between the end of World War One and the beginning of World War Two: 1918-1939).
Above all, “Dadaists” hoped to demonstrate the opposite to that considered “good” art beforehand; this is shown through their artworks. In the past, artists would commonly concern themselves with the way their creations looked and tried their utmost to ensure they looked aesthetically pleasing to an individual looking at it, alternatively, “Dadaists” couldn't care less! Furthermore, art was only often depicted as “good” art if it had a concealed message meanwhile Dada artists strived to have none. These were risky decisions to make and steps to take, but implementing them actually added to the whole success of the Dada movement. Also, because they avoided the usage of all the things that previously made art “good” their success was fully dependent upon society's opinions and perceptions about their artworks, the way they look and what they all mean; not due to the comments made by other artists who were encouraged by other movements.
Dadaism not only influenced movements like Surrealism, but also the work of some of the most influential conceptual artists, not only of their time but of all time too. These conceptual artists included: Marcel Duchamp, Damien Hirst and Bill Viola.
Marcel
Duchamp
Marcel
Duchamp was a French painter as well as a mixed media artist. He was
strongly influenced by, and consequently closely associated with the
movements of: Cubism, Dadaism and Surrealism. On the other hand, he
tried his very best to avoid specifically being influenced by one
significantly more than another.
Though
he didn't create a lot of artworks throughout his life, he hoped that
with the pieces he had created, that he could challenge the general
public opinion about what art processes make a piece successful as
well as the “correct” way artwork should be presented in an
exhibition. He wanted to accomplish this, not through a conventional
way like writing a statement and publishing it; rather through
planned actions he would take which he hoped would: influence,
dominate, displace and ideally affect the decisions and the actions
of others.An example of one of these planned actions was his piece of artwork entitled “Fountain”, which he created in 1917 in New York. It has now become one of the most influential works of the twentieth century. Unfortunately for Marcel though, only a select few ever managed to catch a glimpse of it before it vanished shortly after it was unveiled. Personally, I think that it's vanishing act was almost definitely connected to the fact that it created a lot of controversy. It intrigued some but simultaneously repulsed others!
Damien
Hirst
Damien
Hirst is currently one of the wealthiest living British artists of
the twenty-first century. He's essentially influenced by the poignant
theme of death. He has become well known for his artworks where he
finds dead animals, transports them to his studio and preserves them
before dissecting them. Unfortunately, some of his works were
challenged, criticised and contested by charges of plagiarism.
Damien
Hirst initially established himself as an artist in 1988, almost a
quarter of a century ago in London. He exhibited a small selection of
his artworks entitled “Freeze” in an old, unused warehouse.
Whilst he exhibited bits of his work, at the same time, within this
warehouse his fellow students attending Goldsmith's College did the
same. (Located in the south-east of London, Goldsmith's College did
and still does specialise in the teaching of: “creative, cultural
and social subjects (www.gold.ac.uk).”)
Though his participation in this small exhibition all those years ago
wouldn't have appeared to be all that significant for him back then;
little did anyone know that this would be of crucial importance to
his development as an influential conceptual artist.Hirst's “Freeze” exhibition brought together many key artistic themes of the last two decades which definitely included death. The artworks he chose to exhibit included renowned pieces from his Natural History, particularly, “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone”, which was created in 1991. It's a shark preserved in Formaldehyde / Ultrine and is contained in a sort of display case made of steel and glass. It was originally commissioned by Charles Saatchi before being sold in 2004, in an auction, to Steven A Cohen for an undisclosed amount (a price that isn't declared officially) though there were rumours circulating that it could have sold for as much as twelve million pounds.
Additional artworks exhibited included: “Pharmacy (1992)”, both installations of “In and Out of Love (1991)”, as well as a selection of: medicine cabinets, pill cabinets and instrument cabinets; “seminal” paintings that he produced throughout his career as a conceptual artist (he commonly used butterflies and flies, spots and spins).
Bill
Viola
Bill
Viola is an American contemporary video and sound installation
artist. He was a leading and an incredibly inspirational artist in a
generation when a lot of artists were fully dependent upon the use
of: electronics, sound and image technology when trying to create
artwork worthy of being depicted as “good”.
Though
he was very dependent on the use of technological intervention toward
the beginning of his career after having studied with the composer
“David Tudor” as well as others inside “Electronic” in the
early seventies. This was while he was attending Syracuse University
in New York. Nevertheless, as his career developed, his approach to
producing his art changed dramatically. In other words, by the early
nineties, his approach was broader and he was no longer completely
dependent on the usage of technology.Finally, though his style and approach towards art has changed so much over the decades, it seems that he will always focus upon fundamental periods within a humans in his art (these periods primarily include: birth and death). A demonstration of this was entitled “Heaven and Earth”. It consists of two videos; one of a women dying while the other, a women giving birth; although they are extremely different in focus, they are played adjacent to each other intentionally so they reflect in one another whilst playing.
Next, for task two, I was asked to produce a informative report about the contemporary artists we would have lectures from throughout this project, including examples of their work. These artists included: Chumbawamba themselves, Graham Pilling, Liza Dracup (although when the time came she actually was unable to give the lecture so I was unable to talk about her work) and my tutor at college, Tony Baker. Within this report we were required to write about: "how they generate ideas", "how they use their chosen materials and processes to convey meaning", and finally, "how their visual language conveys meaning" with regards to what each had said, hence why we had to make notes during these lectures. (This report, had to consist of at least 800 words all together. As I was given the choice as to how I could display this information, I decided to do it as a sort of spider diagram for each!
Thirdly, in order to come up with and eventually produce a successful design, I needed to develop ideas and visual language. I could do this by:
1) Writing notes and research on the selected Chumbawamba songs.
; and by producing:
2) At least one mood board of visual material (these could include images of inspirational posters found at www.gigposters.com that I liked and wanted to incorporate into my design, or graphics from Google that I could also use as a base for my design(s)).
3) At least three rough visuals for my A2 poster.
4) At least three different exploratory prints which we are producing in Dave and Mick's sessions every Thursday afternoon. We are currently experimenting with different print-making techniques (in cluding Lino cutting / printing) which, with the results we can can into the computer and hopefully incorporate into our final three colour poster design. In doing so, we are exploring alternative mark-making techniques, textures and colours as to those we have already come across earlier in the course.
5) At least one finished full colour visual.
6) At least one refined full colour visual in response to the feedback at my presentation to a small group of my peers in task 4.
7) A three layered artwork for my final poster design.
8) A refined design for a one colour (most probably a black and white version) print for the T-shirt I will wear at the final flyposting exihibition, whether my poster design is chosen or not.
Additionally, I could also develop my ideas and visual language through ptoducing sketches, montages and test pieces for my chosen design. Throughout all stages of development however, It has been specified that I must include annotations in order to prove that I am developping my own language and styles as opposed to copying someone else completely (whether that be one of my person and other conceptual artists, although discussing ideas with them has proved to be beneficial for me).
9) Finally, though it wasn't specified as a necessary part of the criteria for the project in order to pass, I decided to produce an evaluation of my final Chumbawamba poster design anyway to enhance the amount of work in my portfolio. This will cover: what I like about the design and what worked well in the project, what I don't like about the design and what didn't work well in the project, as well as what could be improved.
Task One: Look
for information graphics and images that reflect social or political
topics (e.g. drink driving, Chinas occupation of Tibet). Then produce
a minimum of 400 word document presenting your findings.
Posters are arguably
one of the easiest, as well as one the most effective and efficient
ways for a campaign or organisation to convey a strong message to the
public with regards to either: a social or a political topic.
Messages conveyed using posters today, are commonly reserved to
issues such as: Binge Drinking, different types of Bullying,
Homophobia and Racism; all of which seem to be on the rise at the
moment. Here
are a few examples posters that use graphics and images in order to a
convey an idea or message based upon one of these topics:
Often, the same media
and materials are used by all poster designers in their artwork to
communicate a certain idea or meaning. Their ability to use these
media and materials to communicate meaning becomes especially
important when it comes to designing a poster which should convey a
message as strong as those conveyed in these examples that I found on
the Internet (e.g. “Bullying can kill”, “Bullying affects one
in every seven students nationwide” and “Drunk Drivers Killed
16694 People in 2004”) as they could effect the well-being of a
person who sees them, or if not them, someone close to that person
(whether it be on: a billboard, on the side of us, as an A4 poster or
in a magazine).
These media and
materials usually include: a photograph, a large title, small writing
that discusses that particular issue further and / or a related
statistic that supports the idea they are trying to convey in the
poster and maybe even some small logos and web addresses that
individuals can reach is the issue could be affecting them and
someone close to them.
A Photograph
Most posters that are
trying to convey ideas and meaning with regard to strong issues, such
as drink driving in this case, are photographic based because are
almost certainly more powerful because they are a more realistic
depiction of the problems surrounding that issue. Here, there is a
photograph of either a male or female lying down on the floor and
presumably dead after having been killed as a cause of the actions of
a drunk driver. It is also black and white and this suggests the
seriousness of the issue.
On the other hand,
some designers prefer to use typography and hand-drawn graphics as
opposed to photographs. Sometimes these can be just as effective at
conveying ideas and meanings as photographs are.
A large title
Generally, there is a
large title on a poster like this, though it may not necessarily be
the name of the campaign that is trying to gain awareness from the
public of the issue. Sometimes it could be a slogan renowned as a
being that used by that particular campaign, in some circumstances,
it could be an example of dark humour, a statement that at first
glance is unclear as to what it is actually saying or, as it is in
the case, a shocking statistic. Along with the photograph, this is
one the first things the viewer's eye is drawn to so it must be
powerful and convey it's intended meaning very well. Here, the title
is written in a bold, white font that clearly stands out from the
black background but sticks to the colour scheme. Alternatively,
“killed” is written in red because this is the key word that will
make people stop and stare. Also, the colour red has been used
specifically because this colour suggests blood and death.
Additional
Information on that issue and contacts
Additional
information is usually included in smaller text is there isn't a
title or it is unclear as to what the title is referring to at first
glance. In this case, however, there is no additional text except for
the web address at the bottom.
If I were going to
attempt to reproduce this poster, I would probably enlarge the text
on the ticket dangling from the person's toe because currently, I
can't read what it says. Apart from that minor adjustment, I really
like this design and I think that it conveys it's meaning so strongly
that nothing else like text or an image is necessary.
Task Five:
Evaluate your work using a minimum of 400 words.
I am very happy with
my final poster designs. With regards to what I wrote in my Proposal,
I think that my poster is almost definitely aimed every adult that
has regular interaction with a child or teenager, for example:
teachers and social workers; not just parents. Secondly, both of my
poster designs are completely based around the photographs. I took
these photographs in the college studio with two of my classmates who
agreed to help out:
- Self Harm PosterAfter having shown my rough visuals to the class and my teacher, I was given the impression that they liked one considerably more than the other so I decided to try and re-create it, only with a photograph that I'd taken. Consequently, the first of the two that I took was of my classmate, Lauren, lying on her stomach on the floor with her hair shielding her face and her wrist stretched out, palm facing upwards, next to her. In Photoshop, I then transformed this photograph into black and white, experimented with the hue, saturation, brightness and contrast, added additional black shadow around the border of the photograph and added white text. The text displayed on this poster includes one of my campaign's catch phrases: “Not herself any more?” As well as the campaign's name “ASK” in the same font and of a similar size, a short sentence that explains what the poster is showing, and contact details, for example: their web address, the facebook and the twitter logo.
- Violence PosterSimilarly, for the second poster, I asked my friend, Ryan to pose as if he were punching a wall in anger at himself and his bullies. I then took similar steps including: the process of which I took to edit the photograph using the same design software and adding the same text (though adapted for a boy so the catch phrase in this case is: “Not himself any more?”), though laid out differently because this poster is portrait whilst the first is landscape.
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