Scary but good. Scarily good?

I love Jamie T, and I love this video even more because at first it seems.... a fairly standard 'amateur' style, relaxed film. But it just.. isn't. And what it actually is (although probably meant to be funny) really freaked me out. I felt within my comfort zone, and because of that, the unexpected oddities were even better. Definitely worth a watch :)


Plus the song's ace. 

History of Art

Just completed my history of Art exam. Whilst I quite enjoyed the majority of the course so far, I can honestly say I really never want to see these two paintings again. You know when one of the things you really didn't want to come up on an exam turns up an just brightens your day...

Rembrandt's 'An anatomy lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp' (1632) (above)

Perugino's 'Lamentation over the Dead christ' (1495) (below)

 

Paul Noble.

I am literally so excited about this exhibition! At first I thought it was the New York Gagosian, but now I've found it's in London I am There. 


:)


Paul Noble at the Gagosian



Noble uses graphite drawings to depict a fictional place: 'Nobson Newtown'. The drawings are so intricately detailed, there is just so much to take in. This exhibition is just one part of a 15 year project based around Nobson. 
      Noble has created a city in which he knows every aspect and after how many years he has put into this 'place' the idea of letting it go is just mad to me (this huge drawing included in this exhibition titled 'Welcome to Nobson' is his penultimate in the series.). 

(Image from http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/arts/review-24008249-paul-noble-gagosian---review.do)


I wish I had been able to see more of the other work he has completed on this subject- I love the idea of having the dedication and interest in a topic as specific as this to work on it for over a decade. 
 

Lost in Lace

Took a little trip to see Lost in Lace at the Birmingham Art Gallery; had to fight through the Frankfurt Christmas market crowds first, but it was worth it.

The last two images are of the piece: 'After the dream' by Chiharu Shiota, which I basically thought was terrifying but I can't really say why. 
Mostly I think the length of the dresses was unsettling, mixed with complete web which they were suspended in- I just couldn't handle it! 
Also, there was an excellent film of the construction of the piece alongside the information :)
Beautiful!

I don't want to do English.

I don't want to do English.

Exploring Birmingham

So, I'm now at the point where I can admit to having a problem with abandoned buildings. This is only reinforced by these photos I took whilst at uni studying English :) Well......... you've gotta have a hobby.

Is this building abandoned? I am undecided. And my cousin made the intelligent and logical point that the next step really is to venture inside. That's tomorrow planned then.

The lights are on... but I don't think anyone's home.....
The building looks new too. Gotta find out.

The floating island.

When I read about this artwork, a sculpture of an island which is filled with helium in order for it to float, created by Sarah Cockings and Laurence Symonds- graduates of the Royal college of Art; I thought it was brilliant. When the piece, titled 'Is Land', was set free by two people cutting the ropes which I held it in place, I thought this made it all the more wonderful. 

It is also handy that there was such a beautiful photo of the piece before it escaped, for the media to use. 


NME article on Is Land

As far as I know, the piece still hasn't been found,

Summer....?

Mike Nelson 'Coral Reef' (2000)


http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2010/jun/14/mike-nelson-coral-reef-masterpiece

Architectural installation at Tate Britain.


I'm there :)

Finished Piece

A selection of photos of my space now that it is completely finished:

I think the clutter and general amount of items is better shown when I sat in the space as you can see the scale of the piece and imagine yourself inside the piece. 

Completed space: just add tags.

A selection of photos of the progress made since the shelves were added to the space: 

At these stages I have been adding as many items that I am going to use as possible. The objects aren't quite in their final places, and there is still a variety of small issues to sort out such as lighting, finishing the net curtains and Tags. But the space, to me, is clearly becoming a room. 

In the 3 above images the space is completed, minus tags and curtains. All of the items are basically in their final places. 

Exhibition update

Today the 'picture rail' and shelves were added to my space which made a huge difference!
I am now going to gradually build up the items in the space, which I couldn't begin to do until I had the space ready- which it now is. Very pleased with the progress so far. 

Maquette 3

For my final small-scale version of my installation, I created a model using mount board, doll house furniture and wallpaper. I think it is helpful to look at the piece in terms of composition. And I really need to assess what areas need more objects to fill gaps etc. Obviously, I didn't quite have exact replicas of what furniture and objects I will actually be using but I did put them in the same places and used similar pieces too. 

I was quite pleased with the finished piece. In my installation their will be more objects and more photos on the walls plus shelves. It was helpful to look at the space (the dimensions of which I completed in relation to my actual space.) and see how the items would fit, where to place things and how much more I need.

Maquette 2

I have completed a very small scale mock-up, including objects which will be used in my installation. I have taken a selection of photos and edited some. They all convey the chaotic, very busy style I want but also the use of a large variety of different objects, which are someone's possessions. 

These are two of the images I am most pleased with. 

Statistics.

For the tags I am creating I have been using a variety of statistics related to life and the world we live in today. I am sewing the tags into a net curtain, creating a collection of information to be viewed when the curtains are hanging. 


Some of the statistics: 
250,000 deaths a year by AK-47
126,496 divorces in England and Wales in 2009.
23 years of a lifetime spent asleep.
77.9- the life expectancy of a UK male in 2009.
82- the life expectancy of a UK female in 2009.


However, I have also used the worldwide statistics on tags in relation to other information. 
E.g. 
'The World Aid Foundation charity lists 50p would buy a child a meal, £3 would pay a child's month school fees, £30 would buy a family food for a month, £30,000 would build and provide a family with a two- room house. In 2007 world aid built houses in Balakot, Pakistan. The national minimum hourly wage in England is £5.93 for over 21s. In 2011 Pakistan has announced a $5.7 billion defence budget- an 11% increase on the previous year.'  


The information can clearly be linked but I am not giving any links in the tags. I think the information speaks for itself. 
I am going to complete more tags in this style which incorporate different facts to give an important comparison. I have already made one including casualty statistics for ongoing wars and the death toll of the recent Japan earthquake and tsunami. 

Exhibition countdown.

It's 23 days until I am aiming to have my piece mostly finished ahead of the Final show (last week of June/ beginning of July), and I have been keeping a record of my progress- in decorating and preparing my space before filling it. 

Wallpaper completed! 

The space I have is relatively small, but big enough to demonstrate a real room. Of course the contents will not be likened to that of a stereotypical room; for instance, a living room or bedroom. But I want the space to clearly show a room, possibly lived in and definitely used, containing a lifetime. Realistically, the overall effect should be quite surprising/ overwhelming. There will need to be a lot of objects to fully create the FULL effect. 

Hoarders

Obviously, this is trash tv, and the people clearly have a psychological problem but I found it fascinating that the people could live in these circumstances for so long. However it is an example of how things can creep up on the individual when there is something wrong. 
In relation to my project I found the need to keep possessions in order to have a connection to the past similar to the lifetime element of my work. When the people are living each day in these houses filled with their lives, past and present, it reminds me having a life in a room (which is what I am aiming for). They do not throw anything away and therefore everything from their lives is just around them. 
In a very strange way it is perfect as research for my project. 


Another blog about hoarders!

Susan Hiller and 'Cradle to Grave'

I took a trip to London to visit the British Museum for the 'Cradle to Grave' piece in the Living and Dying section; and for the Susan Hiller exhibition at Tate Britain. 


Cradle to Grave 'Pharmacopoeia'
The piece incorporates an entire life's worth of prescription drugs for a man and a woman: essentially a medical history told through tablets taken over the course of a lifetime. The pills are knitted into long sections of fabric- over 14,000 each in total and only includes doctor/ hospital prescribed medication.

  I wanted to see the piece because I am looking at ways of demonstrating life through objects from the life. Whether it be food eaten, clothes worn or tablets taken, I think this piece is so relevant to my project and it was great to see the piece. Around the outside of the fabric (as can be seen in the image above) there are photos of family and events throughout the lives which I thought was an excellent touch that really related the thousands of drugs back to the people who used them.
The piece aims to 'explore our approach the health'* in Britain today, but also demonstrate that living doesn't just require good health- but good overall wellbeing and happiness too.


Susan Hiller
I visited the Susan Hiller exhibition at Tate Britain to see some of her pieces which I found quite interesting, such as:
Hand grenades 1972 (ashes from burnt paintings by Hiller)

From the Freud museum 1991-6 (a collection of objects, placed in boxes to give them possibly undue attention. Often mundane items placed in the spotlight. This piece was of particular interest to me because it illustrated how items which bear no importance to some people are everything to others. )

At the exhibition there was a variety of Hiller's work which I hadn't seen but really enjoyed. Her work seems to really engage in the thought processes behind why she does the work she does, and looking at the exhibition was like looking into her sketchbook.
I specifically liked:
Witness 2000
( 400 speakers transmitting voices telling stories of their encounters with aliens/ UFOs. Placed, hanging in a large fairly dim room.) The power of all these voices speaking at once brought weight to an idea that when placed alone can seem ridiculous. The room was really scary!