The first project of the Foundation Course was an important learning curve for me. As an external student, I found it difficult at first to complete a project in such a short period; the adjustment from A-level to the Foundation was intense. Through the progression of the Unit 1 and 2 increased my ability to produce work. As a result of the exploratory stage, my work has become experimental with unfamiliar mediums and themes of work I have not critically investigated prior to this course.
Unit 8 work I found more difficult than the exploratory section of the course. This Unit was more self-negotiated than the exploratory units and needed more critical thinking in order for it to be a successful project. The final outcome of the Unit 8 I was content with, being able to successfully work using 3D Ceramics. However, the journey I took in order to get to that point was not as successful and did not flow very well; there was written work needed to accompany the work in order for it to make sense.
The extended amount of time we had to complete Unit 8 influenced the development of my work. I had more time to complete this project in comparison to the weekly rotation projects, I created different directions my work could possibly take; this had a negative effect as I became intrigued in the different outcomes of the project, rather than briefly experimenting with ideas then focusing on one idea. As a result, through Unit 9 work I will focus more on the idea at hand for the project and not deviate greatly from the chosen theme. This will then impact on the time management of this project. I have decided to use create a handwritten book of my journey through this project. I believe it will assist in focusing on the project at hand and being more articulate in my work and through annotations.
Unit 9
I want to explore contemporary influence on the visual perspectives of others or of themselves. Through this project I will be experimenting with different media to achieve the most successful outcome. I found that what is observed and influenced onto society is often contradicted by reality.
I will be researching historical art movements as reflection to the type of art that was created; investigating whether art was influenced by society or technological advancements in the time period of the art movement. For my project I want it to have a social element, such as changing or manipulation in order to fit into society.
As part of this project I am going to produce a ceramic frame. The design may be influenced by art movements or have a main theme of contemporary influence on society.
Art Movements through history:
Academic Art (1500-1900)
This artwork was very precise, not abstract. This movement was influenced by the academies of European Art.
Antonio Mancin
Ivan Aivazovsky
Symbolism (1750-1890)
This represents ideas or qualities as a symbol. This style of work was achieved through colour and brush strokes.
Charles Gilbert
Andre Martin
Romanticism (1800-1840)
This movement was a revolt against traditional styles. The work involved expressed feelings through paintings and often mythological paintings.
Nicolas Lancret
Antoine Watteau
Impressionism (1870-1880)
This movement went against the conventional methods; there would be more focus on the emotion that was being felt at the time; rather than a focus on the detail.
Lucien Abrams
Claude Monet
Art Nouveau (1890-1910)
This movement had more of a focus on the environment and not a particular theme. Interestingly this movement had an impact on society in ways of soft furnishings and furniture.
Alphonse Mucha
Expressionism (1890-1930)
This movement was used achieve an emotional response through the manipulation of reality.
Edvard Munch
Epaminondas Thomopoulos
LeRoy Neiman
Fauvism (1900-1910)
This was inspired by artists such as Van Gogh, emotional responses to the choice of colour in the art.
Henri Matisse
Andre Derian
Cubism (1900-1920)
This movement was lead by Picasso. This art consisted of showing all perspectives of the object at once.
Pablo Picasso
Georges Baraque
Surrealism (1920-1960)
Ordinary objects would be placed in an unordinary environment or obscured in some way to make it out of the ordinary. Assumed to be significant of suppressed experiences or emotions in the unconscious mind.
Salvador Dali
Max Ernst
Dadaism (1916-1920)
This emphasises the unpredictability within art. It can be characterised by a spirit of anarchic revolt.
Hannah Hoch
George Grosz
Man Ray
Der Stijl (1917-1931)
This work was very abstract, consisting of geometric shapes and primary colours.
Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart
Theo Van Doesberg
Piet Mondarian
Pop Art (1970-present day)
Inspired from advertisements or comic books. Bold colours used to accentuate the style of working.
Roy Lichtenstein
Mark Ashkenazi
Andy worhol
Internet Art (1970-present day)
The use of technology to produce art. Using the internet to share the work and to find inspiration.
John Horan and Eoin O’Mahony
Takeshi Murata
For this project I wanted to focus on the surrealistic and symbolic approach. I became interested in the various approaches artists took as part of the historical movements. I believe that the two movements regardless of the time difference between are very similar. Both creating a visual and meaningful impact on the viewer.
Response
This is a response to Der Stijl art movement. I wanted to begin my responses through this movement as it is linear style of artwork; relating to ordinary mirror shapes. I would be able to manipulate these responses into a mirror frame.
The way in which I created this response to the movement was by manipulating the original work of Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart and incorporated the ‘Instagram’ logo. I then scanned in my design to Photoshop the design and create a range of outcomes. This assisted with the time management of this project. I believe this outcome was not as successful as anticipated. The way I which the design is formatted did not allow me to create outcomes similar to the ‘Instagram’ logo. The grey scale design and inverted version of the design was more successful than the coloured versions.
Response
This response was influenced by the work of Piet Mondarian. For this response I drew the design; then scanned it into the computer. This design was based upon the social media website ‘Facebook’. I was able to edit the copy of the design to produce multiple outcomes of the design. For this design there was more of a variety of outcomes that were possible in consideration to the colour scheme. I wanted to experiment with the colours scheme as there was a possibility of keeping the ‘Facebook’ colours; using Piet Mondarian’s colour scheme. I would be able to experiment with the colour and how the colours can be used to distort the design. For example on two of the designs I have filled in the whole image with colour; it is less noticeable that it is the ‘Facebook’ logo. At closer inspection the ‘F’ in the design becomes more prominent. As a result I developed my design further to make the ‘F’ more prominent which worked successfully but deviated from Piet Mondarian’s style of work. This could be significant of the way in which social media is distorting the perceptions of people. Moreover, the deviancy can be significant of the deviancy of social norms from the late 1800s-1900s to modern day.
Response: Art Nouveau
This is a response to the art movement Art Nouveau. I decided to use the ‘Snapchat’ and ‘Twitter’ logo for this response. I wanted to be able to interpret the movement with consideration to my project, using the traditional movement designs by Alphose Mucha. the way in which I used his floral intricate design to compose a response, I would be able to use the chosen aspects of his work to enable me to create a frame design. I enjoyed creating these responses; creating unique work using two very different stimuluses’. I enjoyed using the water colour paint to achieve the subtlety in the colour.
This is a range of mirrors of different shapes. The shape of the mirror will influence the frame designs.
Frames:
I decided to use frames that are pre-existing as well as creating my own frame. I would be able to manipulate these frames to achieve different outcomes. I would be able to keep the symbolic element to my project by keeping the traditional theme of the frames and using surrealistic photographs. I would also be able to paint the frames associating to the colour theme of the social media networks. I had an interest in collaging ceramic emoji faces onto the frames.
Mirrors:
I was interested using mirrors for my project. The element of using reflection as a significant aspect toward social media distorting the true representation of a person. I would be able to use silver card over areas of the mirrors to cause distortion to whoever was looking into the mirror. This is a possible direction I could take my project.
personal reflection so far:
I found through social networking, you are not physically seeing the person, therefore you do not observe the person’s emotional state. The use of ‘Emoji’ faces are more commonly used to highlight the way a person feels. Interestingly, it can be considered that the emoji emotion’s which the user portrays may not be a true reflection of how they physically feel. I have decided not to pursue the reflective element of the project and focus more on the physical detachment and the representation of emotion.
Research (Facebook):
Through ‘Facebook’ you are able to choose an emotion you feel when creating a post for your profile. Surprisingly, there is a choice of 131 emotions to choose from conveyed through emojis. It can be considered that social networking sites are influencing you to categorise the way in which you are feeling, although emotions themselves are complex.
Through ‘Facebook’ you are able to ‘react’ to a post on your account. In the ‘reactions’ there is a spectrum of emotions you are able to select to amplify your original emotional response to the post. In consideration to the vast amount of emotions that exist and the 133 emotions proposed by Facebook, users are limited to how they can react to a post.
Banksy reworks:
Once conducting work involving emoji faces over the surface of photographs I found the connection to the artist Banksy. This artist used Emoji faces over the top of famous artwork. Another way he created work was through collaging emojis to create artist portraits; referencing famous artists such as Magritte, Andy Worhol and van gogh, amongst many others.
Mark Zuckereberg:
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (born May 14, 1984) is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. He is the chairman, chief executive officer, and co-founder of Facebook. His net worth is approximately US $53.6 billion as of 2017, ranking him the fifth richest person in the world.
Zuckereberg launched Facebook from Harvard’s dormitory rooms on February 4, 2004. He was assisted by his college roommates and fellow Harvard University students Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dunstin Moskovitz ad Chris Hughes. The group then introduced Facebook to other college campuses.
Facebook expanded rapidly, reaching one billion users by 2012. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg was involved in various legal disputes that were initiated by others in the group, who claimed a share of the company based upon their involvement during the development phase of Facebook.
Since 2010, Time magazine has named Zuckerberg among the 100 wealthiest and most influential people in the world as a part of its person of the year distinction.
“In its first quarter 2015 earnings announcement today, Facebook revealed that it now has more than 1.44 billion monthly active users (up 13 percent year-over-year). Of those, 1.25 billion were mobile users, an increase of 24 percent year over year.” – 2015 Statistics.
This graph consists of the amount of mobile Facebook users. Approximately 1750 million users as of 2016.
It is evident in the statistical graph that the amount of Facebook users are drastically increasing from under 100 million to approximately 1,700 million users in under 7 years.
Development of ideas:
The traditional family photographs were taken from the 20th century, which is the same time period as the Der Stijl art movement. I decided to use this art movement as it still interlinks with my original idea for this project; reflecting to the response I had already made towards the Facebook logo. The emoji faces I used were a true reflection to the faces in the photographs. However, the emoji faces which have been used can be perceived as not showing the true emotions. This is significant toward my project as it draws emphasis on the involvement of emoji’s in representing emotion and how it is possible that we do not know the actual emotion.
These images are taken from the late 1800s to early 1900s. I used the emoji faces in a similar way to the other work; using the emoji faces to represent the expression of the face in the photograph. Through studying the photograph, I found it hard to choose a specific emoji. This works well towards my work as it shows the lack of intimacy of the emoji faces in consideration to human emotions.
Possible frame design using ‘Facebook’:
These designs were created as a response to the Der Stijl and Art Nouveau art movements. I found these would be the most successful art movements to use when intending to use frames for this project.
Frame Design 1 making:
This was the initial outcome I had planned for this project. I decided to use inspiration from the Art Nouveau art movement. I liked the floral design; giving a traditional look to the frame. In order to make it have a modern technological influence I used the Snapchat ghost logo hidden throughout the design of the frame. I had an idea of using a white glaze for this frame; making it harder to see the hidden logo in the frame. However, through making this frame it was not creating the intended symbolic impact. As I had already experimented using emoji’s; I found that would be a more significant and interesting direction to take my work. This frame is therefore incomplete as I became more focused on the other aspects of my project.
Ceramic Emoji Faces:
This is the process of making the ceramic emoji faces. I want to use these emoji faces over the surface of photographs and around the frames I have collected. I was interested in the use of emoji’s to represent emotion, and using ceramic faces over the top of photographs creates more emphasis on the technological and mechanical influence on society.
. I then decided that I have the opportunity to use both sides of the ceramic pieces. Taking previous projects into consideration; I imprinted letters onto my ceramic pieces achieving a successful outcome. This led me to use letters on the opposing side of the ceramic pieces. I found that I would be able to arrange a variety of words, of which can create a phrase when certain words are over turned. I found this to have a positive impact on the meaningful aspect of my project. However, as this idea was created after the first firing of the ceramic pieces, therefore, I was unable to achieve the smooth surface on the other side of the emoji faces.
Response:
I was interested in using well-known artwork, similar to the way in which Banksy achieved his work. Other than painting the emoji faces onto the images, I worked through Photoshop to generate different outcomes. I was then able to digitally manipulate traditional art using technology which I consider to be a symbolic significance to my work. I used Photoshop ‘Levels’ to change the colours the emoji faces I used. To conclude this development of an idea created a Gif from the different coloured emoji faces.
Use of family photos:
I wanted my work to have a personal element. As a result, I gathered family photographs to experiment with. Through this development of ideas I have used emoji’s that reflect the true emotions of members of family in the photographs. However, without being exposed to the original image, it would not be noticeable that the emoji’s were the true emotional representation, due to there being such a variety.
Exhibition Planning:
Meeting Notes:
As different roles for this exhibition had been allocated; selected members of the group who are particularly interested in studying graphics created exhibition poster designs. This would create a variety of designs of which we will be able to choose the strongest design. During the meetings that were conducted it was suggested that another design should be created; using inspiration from a number of designs. This was due to some of the designs having a more favourable text than other suggested poster designs. It was then suggested that the colour from one poster would work better with a different pattern design.
Final Design:
This is the final Exhibition poster design. it is an amalgamation of different posters in terms of colour, pattern and text type. We found this design was the most successful as it was created after all of the other poster designs had been proposed. It was noted that there was particular aspects from each design that was favoured over others. This lead to the creation of this final design; the whole team agreeing to the design and deciding it should be used for this exhibition.
Programme:
Health and Safety:
Blocked Fire Exits-
Risk-In case of a fire, the exits need to be able to be opened.
Solution-Don’t block any windows, doors or fire exits with any work.
DIY Tools
Risk-Could cause any damage to the skin if used wrong.
Solution-Follow the safety Procedure when using the sharp tools.
-Ensure to be careful when using these tools.
-Ensure hands are kept away from sharp blade.
Using Stanley to cut Cardboard
Risk-Hand in contact with blade may cause deep bodily wounds to skin.
Solution-Ensure hands are kept away from sharp blade.
-Place Cardboard on flat, protective surface to keep it under control.
-Wear protective gloves to avoid any risk of fatal cuts.
Computer usage
Risk-Using computers for a long period can cause repetitive strain injury to the eye.
Solution-Take regular breaks every 20-30 minutes.
Using Ladders to place posters
Risks-Equipment Quality.
-risk of injury if using a broken ladder.
-Slippery ground – Ladder will slip and cause physical injury to the person.
-Lighting – Do not work in dark conditions.
-Overload- Ladder will break if too much weight is placed.
Solution-Ensure safety checks are done with ladders to ensure they are good condition.
-Check floor is dry and gripping.
-Ensure there is plenty of light in working in area.
-Avoid carrying heavy appliances on ladder.
Messy Working area
Risk-Equipment left in an untidy state could lead to risk of leg or back injury.
Solution-Ensure safety checks are done with ladders to ensure they are good condition.
-Check floor is dry and gripping.
-Ensure there is plenty of light in working in area.
-Avoid carrying heavy appliances on ladder.
-Keep equipment stored if not in use.
-Create a working circle – keeping frequently used equipment within that area.
Loose Cables
Risk-Tripping Hazard if wires left loose.
Solution-Use black tape to hold down wires in place if in sight on floor.
Food and Drinks around electrical equipment
Risk-Electric shocks may occur to the individual if exposed to a liquid.
Solution-Eat food away from electrical equipment.
-Only drink liquids in a tightly compacted bottle with no risks of leaks.
Ceramic work
Risk-Dust from dry clay is carcinogenic.
Solution- Do not disturb any dust discarded from the clay sculptures.
Cutting knife
Risk –possibility of harming themselves or other people if not used correctly.
Kiln
Risk– 1000 degrees- if not allowed the right amount of time for ceramic work to cool is can cause harm.
Solution-Be cautious when in use.
-Allow the correct amount of time for ceramic work to cool before removing from the kiln.
Exhibition space
Risk-Poly filler- can cause harm to skin with direct contact and can cause serious eye irritation.
-once the product is dry it can cause harm to respiratory system (if sanding is necessary).
Solution-Do not inhale when dry.
-Use in a well ventilated environment.
-If any of the symptoms are noticed, contact a health provision.
Risk-The use of turpentine to clean decorating tools used for painting exhibition space.
-Turpentine-short term- irritation to eyes lungs, nose and skin, headaches, dizziness, painful/dark urination.
-long term- unconsciousness and deathRinse with cool water until the product is eliminated.
Risk-Paint for the exhibition space-can cause harm to the digestive system if consumed.
-can harm the respiratory system if the vapours are inhaled.
-can cause irritation to skin with direct contact.
Solution-Do not consume paint.
-use paint in a well ventilated environment.
-use protective clothing/equipment. Rinse with soap and water if in direct contact with skin.
Selected Photographs taken from the exhibition:
Exhibition Analysis:
The exhibition for Unit 9 I found educational and an element I will be able to reflect upon when conducting the final exhibition. The exhibition as an entirety was very successful. Throughout the duration it was a positive environment for people to visit and experience the variety of work that was exhibited. I found it beneficial to have this exhibition as a trial in preparation for the Unit 10 exhibition. I have been able to learn from the organisation of the Unit 9 exhibition. The meetings that took place were successful; allowing us to communicate sufficiently with each other. As a result, we have come closer together as a team as we needed to communicate as a team in order to have a successful exhibition. this has worked positively toward the preparation for Unit 10 exhibition as we are able to communicate properly with each other without hesitation.
The presentation of my exhibition space I was pleased with as I was able to fill in the holes on the mount board from previous users. I was then able to repaint the board to make it look neat. Instead of using the nails to mount my frames onto the board I used a plastic type of Velcro which is designed to mount frames without causing damage to the wall. This worked positively towards my Unit 10 exhibition, if I use the same space, as there will not be any space preparation work needed. When painting my exhibition space, the second coat dried streaky, which was not obvious but it is something to take into consideration for the exhibition for Unit 10.
The exhibit of my work was successful as I made my work interactive to the viewers. To assist the functioning of my work I drew a grid onto the surface of the plinth to make it easier to interact with and to place the pieces back into the right place. The feedback from staff and visitors about my exhibit was positive and they found the phrases that were revealed were challenging and interesting. However, I needed to keep checking my exhibition space to check whether the pieces were facing the correct way and were the correct side up in order for my initial intentions for the exhibit to be successful.
Having the opportunity to have the mock exhibition was very beneficial to the entire group but to each individual as well. Two students from University who has been working with the foundation group frequently were available to help us prepare for the exhibition in consideration to our work and the presentation of our exhibit. We were able to gain insight into the strengths and weaknesses of exhibitions that they had already been a part of; assisting us to not make the same mistakes that they had already encountered.
An element that will be considered greatly is the budgeting of the final exhibition. There was a small amount of money remaining from the budget we created by all contributing £4 each toward the exhibition. As a result, we will know how much money can be more equally or generously spread between different aspects of the exhibition needing funds, such as refreshments and printing credits. Through budgeting we were limited to the number of programmes and poster we could print according to the budget we created. Learning from this it can be considered that we need to contribute more money to the budget in order to print plenty, allowing us to gain as much publicity for our final exhibition.
After discussing the exhibition with the rest of the group, there had been suggestions made to how the exhibition could be improved. Firstly, greater variety of food should be offered; savoury in particular to suit the attendants of the exhibition. As a group, we are going to set tighter deadlines to have preparations complete for the final exhibition. It was mentioned that there needs to be more programmes available for people to access. The location of programmes was inconvenient; therefore, they will be displayed in a more appropriate area of the exhibition space. In the refreshments room, many people spent a lot of time in the room, visitors with children in particular. it has been suggested that we could set up an activity area for children to create their own art work. Most importantly, in consideration to the planning of the exhibition, the artists statements should be consistent with the descriptions included in the programmes.
Analysis of Unit 9:
I found this Unit to be more successful than the other work I have pursued and I have a keen interest in carrying this theme of work through to Unit 10. I enjoyed the project that I conducted investigating the technological influence on the modern day and how it is becoming an ever-growing impact on physical communication. I became more experimental with this theme; investigating different outcomes of the project. Interestingly, the final outcome of my project was not as intended through the project brief I had originally created. The work involving the emoji faces masking the original face in the photograph became more successful than the symbolic element of using ceramic mirror frames. As a result, I became more focused on the emoji influenced work; creating an exhibition consisting of well-known art work and personal photographs to mount frames and presenting 64 ceramic pieces of clay mimicking emoji faces. Originally, the intentions for the emoji faces were to collage onto existing frames I had collected. However, I decided to use the plain side of the emoji faces to add letters. Once in the correct arrangement the letters on the opposing side to the emoji faces create phrases when certain ones are turned over. This was assisted by having multiple diagrams with blacked out dots acting as directions to turn over the correct corresponding pieces to achieve the correct phrase. I found this worked positively with my project because it created a visual impact on the viewer as they discovering meaning behind the work through interaction; when what they discover is the lack of interaction with each other.
The Emoji themed work I created I enjoyed and became very interested in pursuing. I found it to be significant towards the theme of working with social media. The research I conducted through this project investigating social media it intrigued me even more into the complexity of human emotion and how that is achieved through social media. Being able to create the clay emoji pieces was important as it became very successful towards my project and the meaning that I wanted to convey. The idea of using words on the back of the clay pieces was decided after the firing of the ceramic piece, so the backs of the pieces had an uneven surface. This would be an element of my work that I would have liked to improve upon. This can be achieved by ensuring I have exhausted all possible ideas for the outcome of a product. This will be useful when conducting work throughout Unit 10.
There were draw backs experienced throughout this project that impacted upon my work. As I had created the brief at the beginning of this project, I felt like I needed to stick to my original intentions for the project. This became a barrier with my work because I became restricted to the work I could create. This lead to me manipulating the original brief, allowing me to be more experimental with the focused theme of impact of social media on society. Due to having restrictions to my work it impacted upon the time allowance. when working on the Frame I was having to generate other work at the same time. This had a residual effect on the time that was needed to complete the frame as I did not take into consideration the amount of time that would be needed to fire and glaze the frame. As a result, I abandoned the idea and became more focused on the emoji influenced work. Due to taking my work in a slightly different direction I needed to conduct more artist research of which I discovered the work of Banksy who achieved similar outcomes to the work I had created. His work responded to famous artist work and portraits of artists themselves. this differentiated to my work as I wanted to make my work more personal; so, I decided to use family photographs.
Morgan Collin 