Tacky and Tasteful

After going on the trip to Chatsworth House and looking through all the photos i took i noticed i took a lot of pictures of ornaments and small objects that covered all the tables where as everyone else was looking at the large paintings and statues. In Chatsworth i knew the ornaments were probably veryyy expensive made of rare materials or were shipped from other countries to show culture and wealth, but even though i knew this i coulnt help remembering all the ornaments of women in big dresses, dogs and vases that my nan use to have all over her house.

My nan loved carboot sales and would come back each week with random pots and ornaments that were about 50p each that look similar to the things i saw at Chatsworth. i think this just shows how expensive taste from the upper classes was mirrored and reflected into middle class life where poorer families would replicate their homes on expensive and ornate decor to seem 'posher' and richer. Where as looking back now it reminds me of tacky cheap ornaments that seem so ugly and mismatched but i still love them! My rooms filled with mismatched styles of decor and ornaments that are usually from charity, carboots or stuff i got from my nans house.

When i went to the Harley gallery and into the Hope and Elvis studio, instead of taking pictures of their work i took pictures of the things on the shelves that reminded me of a strong British heritage but made over the top and tacky. The ornaments are usually hand painted so in its own way is a piece of unique art.

This tacky and distasteful style of home furnishings has become fashionable and popular within vintage style shops that replicate this but are mass produced and very very expensive to say you can go to the charity shop for similar stuff...they are similary painted with an airbrush or water colour effect that looks aged and vintage, these ornaments are from Urban Outfitters and are about £20 each.

From this i want to base my final piece for Rakes progress on an outcome that has references to taste but also combined with another element of the story. I'll take reference from Grayson Perrys Program 'All in the bets possible taste',

I took pictures of random objects in my room and house and want to use these as references and research for my final piece.

Positive and Negative Space Using String

 This 3D lesson we were looking at positive and negative space, we needed to fill a space using a small amount of material. This related to my last FMP project where i used a string technique called symmography, this uses different techniques with string and mathematical equations by plotting on a graph to create patterns and shapes. I first looked at creating 2D patterns then moved into a 3D space and filling them using a low amount of material. Everyone began to attach string at random parts of the room and connecting them to others going off in different angles, this created a spiders web effect and made it reallllly difficult to walk around the room.

 

It was interesting how such a small material can fill a space and make the space feel smaller and more restricted. When we were unravelling the string and taking it down we had to follow the path of the person who put it up, it was interesting to follow the history and the making of the installation. We collected all the string that was used just to see how much material we actually used to fill the whole room. I liked how the lines created by the string looked graphic and sharp as though someone had drawn or sketches lines over an image, almost like construction lines.

 

For my piece I used the symmography techniques in the corner of a doorway that created a curved shape and got in the way of people walking through. Also it was difficult to see so a lot of people walked into it...this reminded me of a spiders web how you cant see them and end up walking into them.

My Finished Wig

Im quite happy with my finished piece i think it works well and replicates 17th century hair, although i couldve made it more over the top and bigger using more wadding and paper. I couldve also tried to modernise it and make it wearable in todays fashion. From this i really want to try further wig making but using different materials, ill use paper as a maquette to test out the wigs and see how they look.

Myyy box.

 In 3D last week we spent about an hour and a half inside a box. Which i thought was a bit strange at first and that it wouldnt really help but it did! My first thoughts getting in the box were nerves being in such a small dark space and i felt paranoid what other people were doing around me, whether they were in their box or if they had walked off and left me, i felt clostrophobic and trapped.. I wasnt sure at first what i was meant to be doing so i tried sketching what i could see through the gaps in the box and where the light sources were coming from. I took pictures of where the gaps were letting light in, my camera on my phone isnt great but you can see the shapes they created which i thought looked abstract.

 

Next i tried tracing the light on the inside of my box and noting what shapes they made, they made long jagged shapes from the wavy edges of the cardboard. I thought these would make nice graphics when used in photoshop so i need a way of recording them other than on the inside of the box. I moved the position of my sketchbook so the light would reflect onto it letting me trace the shapes.

 

 

From the beginning of the excercise where i felt clostrophobic and self conscious, everyone was laughing and making noises adjusting their boxs to get inside them to when my eyes began to adjust to the darkness and it became lighter. Every one took it a lot more seriously once it became their own space and their own box and no one was talking, when John would ask a question no one would reply because they were too busy sketching in their own space. When John asked if everyone would swap their boxs or deconstruct them everyone said no, everyone seemed to take ownership of a simple cheap object which made me think about how ownership works and anything someone is given they make it their own and it becomes principle no matter how cheap the object is. It made the box seem important and like my own space which made me start to feel comfortable and not clostrophobic anymore.

 

People started to move around outside which kept disturbing the shapes of light coming into my box, it reminded me of a puppet show on the walls of my box but i couldnt make out the outline of the person. I opened one end of the box and from being in there so long i forgot what angle the box was at and where in the room i was. It made me feel disorientated and lost because i seemed to block out what was outside the box.

 

Overall this project made me think more about positive and negative space and how we fill them. I most found interesting how such a small space  can change your feelings once you adjust and take ownership of it which i think is relatable to other things in life that over time become your own.





Chatsworth House Visit

So the other week we went on a trip to Chatsworth House, i didnt really know too much about it other than the Duke and Dutchess of Devonshire live there descending from many other generations in their family. I collected some leaflets to get a good idea of whats on and what sort of activities you can do at the house which will also help with research in other projects.

 Narrative

The size and detail of the rooms was amazing i took so many pictures on my camera and on my phone, just looking at one small ornament or wall piece i could take lots of detailed shots that as a collective told a story about the piece or about history of the family. This strong theme of narrative reminds me of the work we are currently studying, A Rakes Progress by William Hogarth. It was from his innovative work at the time that started a new movement of narrative and story telling through paintings which then turned into a more modernised comic strip.

 Contemporary Art

Within the house itself it had a small number of modern pieces that when put into such a historically preserved house contrasted and worked with its surroundings.

Michael Craig Martin

Digital Portrait of Lady Burlington

James Rigler

Interior

The interior of the house had extravagant and over the top decorations to show wealth and class, having pieces imported from abroad such as materials or paintings shows wealth as many people from the 1600s could not afford such luxuries. This relates to my work i am doing now to do with class and taste, how people today who are middle class may pretend or show they are rich by buying over the top items to show off. This reminded me of a documentary on recently by Grayson Perry called All In the Best Possible Taste.This was all about how different classes have varying tastes in material items and what this reflects about that class.

The full series-

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/in-the-best-possible-taste-grayson-perry/4od

Sculpture



 I got some influences and ideas from the sculpture inside the house, the materials they were made from such as bronze created interesting and varying effects that made me think about how i use tone, contrast and texture within my own life drawing work. From this i want to work more on these and maybe do some practise sketches from the photos i have to taken focusing on each point for each sketch. I also found that the poses the sculptures were in told a story and a strong narrative.

This was my favourite of all the sculptures within the house as its just so unusual to see a sculpture of a black person within a home of a white British family. This was part of a series of bronze sculptures all showing people of different races and ethnicity's, the fact they have been produced in bronze and not usual marble or another stone i found was different, im not sure whether there is a link to this or whether it was a popular and readily available material of the time so i need to do further research into this.





Design Process

There are certain steps I carry out within my design process, these steps can be different with subjects or areas I design for. Following these steps of research, self evaluation and assessments helps me to fully achieve what I set out and to work to my best to assess and react to changes.

From my starting point, if its a project brief or specific piece of work, I brainstorm ideas in my sketchbook by making a mind map with branches coming off subjects that lead me onto other subject matter. From this I can think more laterally instead of looking at the surface of what comes to mind first, this then backs up my ideas and gives them more integrity and grounds to work on. It also gives me areas to start my research and to begin thinking more visually of what I want. From initial note making I write down things that are happening now in the media or within my own surroundings that are related to beginning point of my work, from this I can start further research and see the origins of this media or similar events.

Next, I begin using different types of research such as primary for example I could go out and take photographs, interview people, take surveys, make videos or sound recordings. This type of research works well as its my own account but also a first hand account of other peoples opinions right now instead of text that can be from years ago that may not be true now. The second type of research I use is secondary research, this can be from the internet, books, newspapers, movies or biographies. These are accounts of other peoples opinions and may not be fact or true at this moment anymore. However this type of research is good to get a broader range of opinions and accounts to give me more angles to look at and work with, this will also appeal to a larger audience. The research i then take pictures and text into my sketchbook making notes and highlighting certain things that i can further research. From these notes i start to make small sketches and drawings or ideas i get. The first area of research i usually do is the obvious to get a basic knowledge of what the starting point is about, from this i research artists using similar techniques or areas that i think will be interesting. This is when i go into deeper research and start my sketches.

From this research and my ideas I start to experiment with materials and techniques, whilst all the time doing further research into the materials i use, what else i can do with them and what artists use them to reference to my work. From my sketchbook I usually have more than one idea or pathway so during the experimenting stage i explore each of these making small maquettes to see how they perform and look without fully making it. This gives me a better idea of how each idea works in real life more than in theory.

This leads me onto making assessments as I go along through each idea, I write down what went well, what didn't go well, how to change it and other ideas I have. This allows me to refine my work and make it more focused and effective. I also ask others in my class and at home what they feel, how they react and what idea they get of my work. This helps give another perspective and frees me up from just looking at my point of view. Other people also have fresh ideas as they work in different mediums to me such as graphics or textiles, this allows me to add other elements to my work.

My last stage is to refine my work as much as I can and assess my work after each lesson. This then gives me my final idea that has been tested through maquettes, sample making, deeper research and assessments to work at its full potential. After my final design or piece has been made I assessment my work one last time to note down what I could of changed, if I felt it fully worked to what i wanted or to its best and if it has given me ideas to further it into other projects. I also gain assessments from others whether they felt my work was effective and if it made them feel a certain emotion.

Overall, I feel a good design process is important for producing your best  and most effective work as it allows you to look from all angles and be informed with a good background knowledge and foundation to your piece that gives it integrity and value.

Equaliy and Diversity ED 1.4

ED 1.4

Equality and Human Rights Commission

We have a statutory remit to promote and monitor human rights; and to protect, enforce and promote equality across the nine "protected" grounds - age, disability, gender, race, religion and belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, sexual orientation and gender reassignment.

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/about-us/

Unitied Nations and the Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is generally agreed to be the foundation of international human rights law. Adopted in 1948, the UDHR has inspired a rich body of legally binding international human rights treaties. It continues to be an inspiration to us all whether in addressing injustices, in times of conflicts, in societies suffering repression, and in our efforts towards achieving universal enjoyment of human rights.

http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/hr_law.shtml