02/09/19

How did sharing your understanding of your terms with your groups help to develop your ideas?

I think that being able to discuss my terms with 5 people form completely different backgrounds allowed me to think of them from different perspectives, explore lots of possibilities and establish links between them that I wouldn’t have been able to do on my own. Having several points of view at the early stages of the project really helped me expand the paths to follow for this project.

What primary and secondary research could be beneficial to developing your idea?

I think visiting the anarchist bookshop called Freedom in Whitechapel High Street and talking to whoever’s at the shop about what anarchism means to them might be good primary research. Any books or journals they recommend would be very beneficial secondary research. Some authors they might recommend could be Proudhon, Bakunin, Goldman or Kropotkin. Some artists I could look into would be Stellarc and Takis for their work relating to suspension and Bill Viola for his work relating to air.

Consider how location, audience, scale, timeframe, message + documentation/distribution are factored into your idea.

At this stage of the project I don't have a clear idea of what my final outccome will be. However, I believe they will be very important aspects to have in mind as my idea develops.

04/05/19

How did working with your group help in gaining a broader perspective? What did the discussion with your peers provide you with?

Discussing Valerie Solanis' quote from the SCUM Manifesto "...eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and destroy the male sex." with other students helped me to unpack all the possible meanings this controversial quote may have and their social and political implications. Firstly, we discussed the idea that a moneyless society in which all jobs were automated would create the perfect conditions to nurture certain activies which are looked down on for being unproductive under capitalism such as the arts, philosphy and literature but also science and sports. This, however, raised lots of questions concerning how this changes would be implemented, who would be in charge of doing so and how they would impact society. As one of my classmates pointed out, this new system would require a new set of ideals transmitted thorugh education in order for people to rethink how they place value on certain items, moving from an economic system that is based on the distribution of limited resources thorugh a market structure ruled by suply/demand to a post-scarcity context. We aslo talked about how this related to other ideas such as universal basic income, communism and anarchism, which happened to be one of my words for the Ideas Factory project. Finally, we interpreted the "destruction of the male sex" as a provocative metaphor for the rejection of qualities which are traditionally associate to masculinity such as strenght, anger and dominance in favour of more femenin ones, expressing a feminist point of view.

Identify 1 artist/designer and 1 writer whose work influences the debate about our future. Write notes on why their work is interesting to you and what effect it crerates on its audience and how it does this. (250/500 words)

A designer who I think is influencing the debate about our future is Iris Van Herpen.  I believe her innovative garments are not only shaping the future of fashion but of many creative practices by using 3D printing technology and working alongside architects and engineers to create wearable, washable 3D printed garments. The Dutch designer first became interested in 3D printing technology because it allowed her to create clothes without having to cut patterns for them, which avoided having to translate her 3D ideas into 2D and then back into 3D again. This approach completely subverts the notions of traditional western fashion in which garments are constructed from two dimensional pieces of fabric and acquire volume by being put onto the body. 3D printing technology also enabled Van Herpen to design with immense detail, creating incredibly intricate and symmetrical structures and patterns which would be impossible to make by hand. However, a great part of the designer’s success is due to the fact that she combines innovation with tradition, as Rebecca Mead explains in an article for The New Yorker. Mead also highlights Van Herpen’s frequent visits to CERN in Switzerland, illustrating how the designer often takes inspiration from science, and the sculptural qualities of her work. Many of her avant-garde pieces end up in museum collections rather than costumers’ wardrobes and Mead even goes as far as to say that “Her disposition is that of an artist who happens to work in fashion, rather than a fashion designer who happens to be an artist.”

Reference article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/25/iris-van-herpens-hi-tech-couture

09/09/19

What was your response to the project brief? What project concept, context, site did you select?

My response to the project brief was an idea for a museum/gallery space the structure of which is based on a pyramid and a dodecahedron. The final visualisation of the building has two twin towers reminiscent of gothic architecture and a mirrored annex of the main building put upside down, with exactly the same internal layout as the oiginal. This is inspired by Guy Debord's ideas about psychogeography and the "dérive", defined by Debord as "a mode of experimental behavior linked to the conditions of urban society: a technique of rapid passage through varied ambiances." The building is meant to induce a feeling of dejà vu and being lost to visitors of the musem, which would nurture the exploration of new and unique styles of curation and site-specific art installations through a maze-like structure that makes it easy for people to get lost.  

Which shape was strongest? Which shape was visually exciting? Why?

From my experience with model making today, I would say that the strongest and most stable shape is the triangle as it appears to be the base of all the Platonic Solids as well as for geodesic domes. While making the model, adding and substrating triangles from the structure seemed to detrmine what shape it was and helped to gain stability. I wonder if this is because triangles have three sides and three angles wich are identical and otherngeometric shapes do not. As to which shape was more visually exciting I think more complex structures such as an icosahendron are more eye-catchinng and interesting because they are not as usual as cubes or pyramids and are not as easy to break down into simpler shapes in just was glance.

How did you work within the group? What feedback did you recieve from them?

Working within the group today was not the easiest at times because we struggled to get organised properly. We didn't have a clear plan for building the model and that made it more difficult to stabilise the structure. Also, there were times in which all three of us would try to work on the model at once and wouldn't really manage to get things done. I feel like my groupmates today were not that enthusiastic about the project. I wonder how I can make other poeple be more interested and invest themselves in a project or while giving feedback. Maybe asking some questions would be a good idea but I haven't figured out which ones to ask. However, the little feedback I revceived from them was largley positive and they all seemed to think my sketchbook work was interesting.

How have you presented your idea in your sketchbook? 

I h ave presented my idea in my sketchbook through drawing and collage, taking observatinal drawings of my 3D bamboo model as a starting point and developing it in several different ways, taking into consideration aspects such as materials, location, function and scale. By using tracing paper, I employed the observatinal drawings of the model as a modular structure, expaning the building by juxatposing the same form in different positions arround the original shape. Taking an iterative approach and drawing my idea as many times as possible really helped me develop a clear concept for a potential final outcome. Allowing the model to cast a shadow by illuminating it whith only a lightbulb helped me to consider how lighting might influence people's perception of it and documenting the different results made me further consider how rythm and repetition may play a key role in my final outcome, mirroring certain shapes or patterns.

12/09/19

Reflect on the process of gathering the text. Reflect about the choice of type, material, scale and location. Does it function as a piece of communication? Impact and influence.

In today's workshop I made a typographic installation designed into a space about the topic of fear. The quote hat I chose was from a conversation I had via text message with an anonymous student from D7. It  was very liberating to be able to speak with someone without them being able to judge me and brutal honesty soon appeard while we discussed our nightmares. After altering bits and pieces from the conversation I decided to go for an unaltered quote: "Do you have any dreams that you're afraid of dreaming?". I chose this quote because as it is written in the second person and in the form of a question it instantly captures the reader's attention by adressing them directly, forcing them to think about their own dreams and fears. Following the tutor's advice, I decided to cut out the sentence from a piece of paper in Helvetica because it is an easily readable and versatile font, the neutrality of which would allow the message of the text to have a more dramtic impact once it has been read as it does not particularly create any expectations about its content. I chose to project the quote onto the walls and ceileng of a white room using an overhead projector, creatinga distorted lighting effect with ghostly qualities, reminiscent of dreams and especially nightmares because it is placed over the viewer, almost in a menacinng way. 

17/09/19

How did you respond to working as a team? 

I was surprised to to find myself wanting to assume leadership while working with my team and trying to control the whole creative process, styling the looks, deciding how they should be photographed and creating the narrative around them. As I wouldn't have been able to carry out all of the tasks myself, I did enjoy having the help of others in this project but we were not successful in mainting the roles assigned for each round and like last week, I found myself taking the initative and breaking the ice.

What have you discovered about fashion communication/photography?

In today's workshop I discovered the importance of teamwork in fashion communication and that I might struggle to maintain a fixed role while working in a team. Before today, I was considering it as a possible specialism because of my interest in fashion magazines and advertisements. Having tried it today for the first time, I am now considering how othet specialisms in which I would have more freedom to create and be in control of the whole process would suit my way of working better. Such pathways could be Fine Art.

What did you learn from other people's approach to styling and photography?

I think the most successful strategies used by my classmates today were approaching the brief in the most literal and straight-forward way without overthinking it, achieveing outcomes that were simple but not simplistic. For example, as a response to the oversized look, a team in my class draped black fabric over a large paper roll placed over the model's shoulders, creating an extremely oversized silhouette. Likewise, other examples of strong work I saw today focused more on silhoutte rather than just layering and texture. Pictures in which the poses, camera angles and locations were carefully considered were more successful than those which only aimed to document the looks.

19/09/19

In what way did the idea of psychogeography inform your decision making in today's drawing task?

While making observational drawings today I just wandered freely around the Archway campus, letting my sight guide me. I ended up drawing the buildings and structures I found the most visually compelling and once I had sat down to draw them, I discovered others nearby that interested me. I would say the idea of the dérive or the flow heavily influenced the decisions I made in regard to my obervational drawing but also while choosing what shapes to use for my shape menu and the construction of piece.

When considering your thought process do you think it is okay to get lost?

I think it is okay to get lost while creating and reaching dead ends from time to time that don't necessarily lead to successful or clear final outcomes because they might help to inspire other projects in the future and even oif they don't, I believe that reflecting and creating is always positive, sometimes even inevitable, even if it doesn't have a specific purpose.

23/09/19

In the fashion illustartion workshop today I had the chance to try out lots of different drawing techniques. Coming from a more traditional arts background with an academic approach to observational drawing, today's workshop has made reconsider my assumptions about drawing. While I would usually start by tracing the form of my subjects using geomatric shapes and doing the details afterwards, going straight into drawing without having previously planned a layout allowed me to concentrate on what was actually in front of me and not draw out of my imagination, simply assuming what was there or making up information. Some techniques that helped me achieve this were drawing with my left hand being right-handed, which produced very succeful outcomes by removing pressure from creating a perfect drawing; outline drawing, which made me focus on the form of my subject and practice various line qualities; blind drawings, which helped me improve my observational skills, and collage, which allowed me to explore texture. However, the most interesting technique I tried today was continous line drawing. Continuos line drawing helped me to draw the models more quickly and instinctively while adding very expressive line qualities. This is the one technique that I found myself coming back to even when wwe were not required to use it and I'm sure it will be very helpful for drawing in the future.

24/09/19

How did you find working with so many constraints? Did this make it easier/harder to come up with ideas? Why? Was PDC what you expected? Why?

I didn't really enjoy working with so many constraints today and I wish we had had more freedom to explore our ideas as I felt inspired after the morning lecture. I found the presentation about the idea of the "still llife" in product design and sustainabilty to be quite interesting and I was expectig to be able to explore that in the afteroon by designing 3-D objects and installing them as a still life using food packaging instead of food. However, the session was more guided than I would have preferred and timing and use of materials were strictly limited which made it harder to come up with ideas. I felt my ideas were not very strong or original and I didn't enjoy crafting my designs. I think the outcomes were not really successfull as I was not able to construct them properly. Looking at my peers' work, I could idnetify plenty of successful outcomes, the strongest ones being those that could be applied on the body. I decided to not explore any of my ideas that related to the body because I felt they belong on the "Wear It" workshop and wanted to adapt an try out exactly what the PDC pathway would be like. PDC was what I expected beacuse I had done product design in school before and I had not particularly liked it, espacially the more technical side of it. Nevertheless,  I was pleasently suprised to discover the experimental approach of the workshop. This did not really change my preconceived ideas abour PDC and Is till believe it is not one of my strengths.

How did writing a description of your object make you consider the relationship between its form and its function? How effective was your choice of language in communicating a description of your objects form and structure? Consider how your classmate responded to your reading.

Writing a description for my object made me realise how its function influences its from and how it has very few decorative elements that don't serve its main purpose. The shape, size, structure and materials of my object are a product of its function and the only aspects of it that could be considered not as essential would be the patterns in the cap and bottom of the bottle and the bright rainbow colour gradient. Because of my choice of language, describing my object as a colourful metallic container for a liquid, my classmate thought at first that I could be describing a pen or biro. Her second guess was correct, a water bottle, and the main element of confussion was thye fact that the bottle has very unusual colours.

Identify one artist/designer and one writer from the references supplied with your one day workshop briefs. Pick a piece of their work and wirte about why it interests you. Is it the use of materials, the aesthetics, the questions their work poses? Find an article in a magazine/journal in print or online, read and annotate it. How has this secondary research source helped you gain further insight into the practitioner's work?

One artist whose work I am interested in from the references provided this week is Richard Serra. Richard Serra is an American sculptor associated with the Process Art movement and known for his large scale, site-specific sculptures. These sculptures are usually free-standing, balanced arch-like structures made of Corten steel that slowly rust over time and explore the relationship between the body and space. Serra's aim is to challenge the viewer's perception of space through monumentality through pieces that don't represent anything in particular. As the artist himself put it in an article by Deborah Solomon for The New York Times, "If you’re are dealing with abstract art, you have to deal with the work in and of itself and its inherent properties. The focus is mainly on mass, weight, material, gravity and so on."

A piece of Serra's work I'm particularly interested in is "Verblist", 1967. The artist developed a list of verbs that related to materials and processes in art and set himself to carry them out in a cross over between performance art and sculpture. As a result of one of these actions, Serra created a series of site-specific sculptures by splashing melted metal into the corner of a room. I think “Gutter Corner Splash”’s materiality and texture are what I find more attractive about the piece. The subtle aggressiveness and violence of it, the cold rusty colours and how it interacts with light is very inspiring. I am very interested in how the sculpture shows the aftermath of the action and still embodies the movement that created it.

26/09/19

What processes and materials have you used today?

In today's workshop I used a wooden door, a black shirt, rusty wire, sharp pieces of rusted metal, candles, tape and string. I used the tape, string and wire to attach all the other elemets together in different ways to convey different meanings.

Choose 2 other people's works that you admire. What interests you? What materials and techniques have they used? How could you apply those in your own work in the future?

I saw two pieces of work today that I thought were really inspiring. I am interested in their use of scale and their clever choice of materials. I think the piece in the first image achieves very interesting textures through juxtaposing draped fabric and wood. Its composition and arrangement are very compelling as the objects seem to be displayed from smallest to biggest and all the elements are balanced out without it being symmetrical. I think the use of a small plinth to elevate the sculpture and show it against a cleaner background was very successful.  

In my opinion, the strength of the second piece lays in the fact that the intervention of found objects suddenly expands into a site specific installation. The subtelty and deliacacy of the insatllation, achieved mainly thorugh its scale, so small it could be easily missed, is in my opinion the reason why it's so succesful. I would like to incorporate smaller scale pieces into my work because I feel like they're experienced in a way that is more intimate and one-to-one.

How did you feel about not designing in detail before making? How could thinking through making benefit your creative learning?

Although I did do some rough sketches before I started to work on my piece, I found that I took many decisions as a response to how the materials interacted with each other, which I wasn't able to anticipate. I would say the most succesful outcomes from today's workshop were those which I hadn't designed in advanced but planned out while making them. I believe the technique of thinking through making, which I didn't enjoy in the Build It workshop, has proven to be really helpful today and I feel more comfortable using it from nown on. I think this technique could help me push my ideas in many diffreent unexpected directions and expand my creative thinking in order to achieve more original outcomes.

How did your work today physically express the ideas on your cards?

My work today expressed the words "magician", "unnatural" and Lynda Bneglis's "Quartered Meteor". The word "magician" appeard on the cards as opposed to "warrior" which made me think of a sorcerer or wizard as a spiritual leader. This religious, ritualistic connotations translated into my work in the form of a shrine or altar devoted to a pagan god. The rusted wire was bent and twisted in unnatural ways around a black shirt displayed with its sleeves spred against the wooden door, remniscent of a crucifix. The metal blob in "quartered meteor" was meant to me expressed trhough melted candle was dripping all over the altar, displaying the aftermath of the rituals it is used for.

Does it matter if your outcome has moved away from your starting point?

I don't think it matters that my outcome has moved away from my starting point as it has because I believe  the end result is more successful in communicating the ideas in my cards than my original sketches.

What did you discover by chance/accident?

At first I tried to make 5 candles stand on the edge of the dooors, but I didn't manage to balance them or glue them on. I tried to get them to stand by tying the wire around them and balancing them on the floor, but still I wasn't able to do it. The tutor suggested I melted all the candels together into one big one as it would have more of a ceremnial feel to it. I left the building in an attempt to melt them together but the wind stopped me from doing it. Finally I decided to tie them together with string. Halfway through the small crit/walk around we had at the end of the day the top  candle fell and stayed horizontally insted of vertically. I think this changes the meaning of the piece slightly as verticality in art has traditionally been associated with trying to reach out to God and the divinne. 

What would you improve or take further about your work today?

I would like to work further on the candles in the sculpture, melting the wax and deforming them into different shapes. I would also like to present the piece with the candles lit in a low-lighting environment and see how the light interacts with the the sculpture and alters its perceptuion, potentially becoming a sculptural element itself.

02/10/19

What are some of the factors that you consider to be important when interpreting a piece of work?

I think the most important element to consider when interpreting a piece of work is the contexct in which it was created and was intended to be dispalyed as it can alter the meaning of it in several different ways. 

How did it differ woking in a group analysing and interpreting an advertisment to working on your own?

Being able to analyse the advertiisements in a group allowed me to interpret the mage in many different ways I would have never thought of.

Identify one artist/designer and one writer from the references supplied with your one day workshop briefs. Pick a piece of theri work and wirte about why it interests you. Is it the use of materials, the aesthetics, the questions their work poses? Find an article in a magazine/journal in print or online, read and annotate it. How has this secondary research source helped you gain further insight into the practitioner's work?

One of the artists whose work interests me the most from the references supplied in the presentations this week is Idris Khan and his work “Every…Bernd and Hilla Prison Type Gasholders”. Idris Khan is a London-based artist who works with photography, film and sculpture and is known for his digitally manipulated images in which industrial settings are depicted through multiple overlapped layers, ensuring everyone has a presence and a similar opacity, creating a distorted and ghostly representation of them. Describes as being “more painterly than photographic” in Sean Kelly’s website, his work often uses secondary sources as a starting point, taking found images or even the Qur’an.

I find this piece of work to be very visually compelling because it manages to turn a very hard and heavy structure into a light, ethereal object that almost appears to be floating. It is very interesting how the superimposed images taken from different camera angles create a sense of movement and act as a way of documenting time, incorporating the fourth dimension. This style of working makes me think about cubist paintings like those of Picasso and Braque, in which objects are depicted from angles at the same time, overlaying every one of them in order to create geometric shapes that seem to be closer to abstraction. There is an unsettling and mysterious atmosphere that surrounds Khan’s images, almost as if by digitally manipulating the images, his subject matters appeared to be alive and could move on their own, altering the viewer’s perception of them.