Thursday 27 March 2014
Wednesday 26 March 2014
Elizabeth Jane Winstanley
We took a trip to Manchester craft centre to view an artists work named Elizabeth Jane Winstanley, who was a previous student at Man Met. Her work was really structured but playful and reflected a similar outcome to Unit X, and particularly low tech hacking. She incorporated 'el wire' in to her work along with coloured acrylic, which were features in my last project. Her collection of work was named 'Tactile Illusions'. She had numerous pieces, all of which involved laser cut piece's of acrylic forming structured shapes, and she relied on the movement of the viewer to create the illusions.
I think her work has really allowed me to think about movement in my work, I found it particularly influential as I would like to involve illusions in my work.
Chatham Library archive
Our organised trip to Chatham Library was really interesting. It wasn't just the archive that was impressive, it was the actual building itself, I almost felt like I was in a Harry Potter scene. The historic book collection was fantastic, and the gothic layout and architecture was unbelievable.
We flicked through the various leaflets, maps, posters and photographs, trying to grasp what life was like one hundred years ago. The "fairground" or "pleasure gardens" as it would have been named during that period, was a place for people to socialise, have fun, and escape from the hardships in life. It was a place full of attractions that the public had never seen before, therefore it was constantly advancing and growing. It was intent on bringing new and more exciting attractions to entice people to come back, or visit Belle Vue for the first time.
The fairground had a dark side though. At the time, animal welfare was unheard of. Belle Vue would buy exotic animals to show in their zoo, but the animals would rarely live past six weeks. Conditions were truly abysmal, much of this was due to a lack of education however the greed for money, and a need for more visitors played a part. Freak shows and circus's were also a common occurrence. Dangerous acts like the trapeze and wall of death attracted massive crowds.
We flicked through the various leaflets, maps, posters and photographs, trying to grasp what life was like one hundred years ago. The "fairground" or "pleasure gardens" as it would have been named during that period, was a place for people to socialise, have fun, and escape from the hardships in life. It was a place full of attractions that the public had never seen before, therefore it was constantly advancing and growing. It was intent on bringing new and more exciting attractions to entice people to come back, or visit Belle Vue for the first time.
The fairground had a dark side though. At the time, animal welfare was unheard of. Belle Vue would buy exotic animals to show in their zoo, but the animals would rarely live past six weeks. Conditions were truly abysmal, much of this was due to a lack of education however the greed for money, and a need for more visitors played a part. Freak shows and circus's were also a common occurrence. Dangerous acts like the trapeze and wall of death attracted massive crowds.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Unit X is inspired and fueled by the "fairground". With the university, we went on a trip to Blackpool Pleasure Beach. The trip was the starting point of our project and I wanted to document and photograph as much as possible to fuel my initial research. I took hundreds of photographs, and once I had returned from the trip, I began to filter through them. I had veered away from the industrial frames of the roller coasters and smaller rides, and instead I was concentrating on the fairground acts and their elaborate costumes.
I really enjoyed rooting around in the costumer volt that contained over 10,000 different items of clothing and props. I paid close attention to the feathers, beads and fabrics that had been used to create these extensive costumes, not only were the textures beautiful, but the colours were vivid and diverse. The colours of these items could give me artistic licence to use any colour I want in my development, and final piece. However, because my photographs do include so much colour, I am already interested in producing a final piece that only concentrates on one, or two colours, and potentially use a projection to produce the vibrant colours.
I also thought about making numerous samples, all different, to represent the amount of costumes, fabrics and materials that I photographed. I was really inspired by the trip to Blackpool and was really grateful for the opportunity to rummaged through 10,000 costumes, old to new.
I really enjoyed rooting around in the costumer volt that contained over 10,000 different items of clothing and props. I paid close attention to the feathers, beads and fabrics that had been used to create these extensive costumes, not only were the textures beautiful, but the colours were vivid and diverse. The colours of these items could give me artistic licence to use any colour I want in my development, and final piece. However, because my photographs do include so much colour, I am already interested in producing a final piece that only concentrates on one, or two colours, and potentially use a projection to produce the vibrant colours.
I also thought about making numerous samples, all different, to represent the amount of costumes, fabrics and materials that I photographed. I was really inspired by the trip to Blackpool and was really grateful for the opportunity to rummaged through 10,000 costumes, old to new.
Unit X options
Once the Unit X options had been released I started to zone in on the skills I had learnt in the previous projects, and what particular processes I enjoyed and wanted to expand on. I narrowed the options down to three; quilting, low tech hacking and digital collaborations. Although I enjoyed print, I was disappointed that there wasn't more than one option, and that it only focussed on designing for fashion. I also wanted to incorporate the digital technologies that I had been inducted on, and was keen to broaden my knowledge of the adobe creative suite.
I decided to take a chance, and I went with Low Tech Hacking. I made the decision based on wanting to challenge myself and also the new techniques I would learn.
When I received the brief, I was really happy with my decision, as it included lots of workshops. I want to learn how to incorporate projections, light and possibly movement into my work. Although within this unit I will be producing a final piece, I believe I will also be learning much more about digital processes.
I decided to take a chance, and I went with Low Tech Hacking. I made the decision based on wanting to challenge myself and also the new techniques I would learn.
When I received the brief, I was really happy with my decision, as it included lots of workshops. I want to learn how to incorporate projections, light and possibly movement into my work. Although within this unit I will be producing a final piece, I believe I will also be learning much more about digital processes.
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