Andrew's Adventures in Loganland

Alternative Miss World 2009

Alternative Miss World- Useful Websites

http://alternativemissworld.co.uk/

http://andrewlogan.com/tag/alternative-miss-world

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/video/2009/may/01/alternative-miss-world-andrew-logan

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/alternative%20miss%20world

http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/radar/andrew-logan-alternative-miss-world

Polyurethane Foam and Plastic

Ive been a bit confused on what to do for Alternative Miss World with my materials. Ive enjoyed using plaster but the weight of it probably wont work for my ideas as it needs to be light ish to stand up. My idea is to use a messy raw sort of material that can be cheap or look inexpensive, i want to pour this over my sculpture that will run onto the floor to hopefully give it some structure and hold it to the floor. These are some sketches of my ideas so far.

I like the effect plaster gives and like that it looks chalky and matte and also that parts are crumbling away and deteriating. However for the scale im wanting to make this i dont think it will work or stand up, the legs i made had to be stapled to the wall and still this wouldnt hold it for too long. I started looking into other materials that would be a lot lighter, i experimented with some latex but only in a 2d form so i need to try it on 3d surfaces to see how it looks. I liked the shiny rubbery surface it made when i mixed it with glitter, i want to use cheap tacky sort of materials like glitter etc.

My next idea was expanding foam as i could still use chicken wire to make the basic shape. Also after making the legs with plaster the effect it gave inside would be similar or stronger when using expanding foam which i liked.





The main artist i could think of that used foam was Folkert De Jong who puts pigment into the foam to colour it although it isnt expanding, the colours and textures remind me of cakes and sweets.


Folkert has also collaborated with fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck, this may help if i decide to make a costume/sculptural piece.

Someone who uses polyurethane plastic is Nick Van Woert,  he uses historical sculptures and busts then covers with plastic to disfigure and cover the sculpture but also the way he lets the plastic sets then displays changes the gravity of the work.

These materials are normally used for casting, an artist using resin casting is Darren Lago he contrasts the material with the subject matter but i find his use of materials more interesting. He puts pigment into the resin using bright sweet colours then glass over the top. Another idea would be to make a cast using the material instead of pouring over something else.

Alternative Miss World Initial Ideas

After watching Andrew Logans A British Guide to Showing Off  i noted down main themes i noticed, other than the ones given such as Void or Earth, i mainly noticed the theme of gender and sexuality, what defines gender and the spectrum between male and female. The view of the female body is seen in more of a humorous and cheeky way and the body is accentuated and almost celebrated as art rather than something to be covered. It made me think about how i define the term 'female' and 'male' and the people inbetween who merge these terms and become something new.

When i did A Rakes Progress i went to make a quick sculpture from the initial idea of A Rakes Progress focusing on the prostitues, i noticed how those characters were always in the background and never seemed to be a main character almost as though they were props or objects in the composition. Howeverrrrrrrrr this project went on way longer than i thought it would because i got caught up in using plaster and the effects it gives. But from this it gave me ideas and followed on well to alternative miss world with the idea of femaile sexuality and gender.

These arent recent pictures from my new sculpture, my newer ones are a lot more heavy handed and exagerated like Rebecca Warrens work using clay. The way i make the sculptures is also kind of how i draw in life drawing.





I researched into the subjetc matter of her sculptures which originally came from Robert Crumbs cartoon sketches which were quite offensive and harsh. He worked from American mainstream and his 'ideal woman' but then again in a lot of his drawings he would draw the men small and weak compared to the women.

I want to carry on with this theme of female sexuality an identity, my first idea if i were to make a costume would be to make an everyday object into a costume to show the objectification of women, with it being made into a theatrical humorous costume it would show the attitude most people have towards sexist comments and jokes and abuse women can get in the streets for the way they look.

New Life Drawing Model

It was really challenging going from being use to drawing the female figure and shape to then drawing a man. At first i was still in that frame of mind and drawing the figure like a woman which took a while to get out of it. Its really helped to give me experience with drawing different people and gives me a variation of models to put in my portfolio. I prefer drawing with simple lines and shading becuase if i start to do more i always seem to make it look too heavy and it all blurs into one. I need to practice a lot more with shade and using it with depth and foreshortening. The first three were my first drawings which didnt go well, the basic shapes are okay but i dont like the tone i used or shading. I think i worked well with the foreshortening in the first picture although i could of made the foot bigger and used the tone of shading the help with the depth of the image.

 

Sculpture: A Rakes Progress

In 3D to finish this project off we were told to make a piece based on A Rakes Progress using one of the skills we have learnt this term. I knew i definitely wanted to try using plaster more as i liked the raw effect it created in the casting sessions. The first artist i thought of that works in a more organic and raw way was Rebecca Warren, after seeing her work at the Saatchi Gallery i really like how the female figure was exagerated to look overly sexualised that it almost made it comical even though it was touching on the subject of sexism and feminism. Although she uses clay and not plaster i feel the outcome can look quite similar.

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/rebecca_warren.htm?section_name=shape_of_things

From this idea i wanted to work from the tavern scene with the prostitutes surrounding Tom. I wanted to use the way that the prostitutues arent main characters and seem to blur into one as theyre not seen as important or as actual people with their own stories. I wanted to choose a part of the body that they would be noticed by but gives them anonymaty and seem more like an abstract object.

 

After making the basic shape with chicken wire i used skrim and plaster to build over it, i liked the effect it created when parts werent fully filled in and there were holes to see the chicken wire inside. Next lesson i need to make the other leg and decide what position i want the legs to be in and how to keep them in that position as theyre quite heavy. Also i want to exagerate the shape more by adding more plaster in certain parts.