Large scale, florals and doodles

Last week we had a 2tutor crit with Alex and Rihanna which was really useful because the main idea that I took from the tutorial was to be more experimental. I brought up the fact that I was feeling lost but I was reassured that at this point in the project experimenting and trying new techniques will make my work stronger in the end, which is what I aimed to do this week.

Large scale experiments: casting shadows of plants and represeting with different tools in 5 minutes

After the shadow drawings that I did last week, I wanted to continue this, as well as bringing in the data part of my project by making them a set of experiments. I therefore made myself do them in 5 minutes and experimented with different tools like a stick (left), a tool made out of scrap cardboard (middle) and a brush on a stick, a meter away from my body (right). I was really happy with the way they turned out as it loosened me up, and created effects that were out of my control such as the dripping paint.

I was also keen to try out different styles this week, and also creating an all over pattern. I therefore created an all over floral with gouache, and scanned it in to play around on photoshop to create the two versions below. I enjoyed creating more stylised work as I haven't done it before, however, on reflection, I dont believe that this does justice to my concept so I probably wont take it further, unless it's mixed with other more relevant elements.

 I also created more 'experiments' this week including creating 3 'doodle' style drawings in increasing time to link back the idea of creating my own data. I then produced the image below, mixing them together. Although I like the line qualities in this piece, I think that the large mix of elements might be too much. I feel I could solve this by either mixing it with painterly qualities or not using so many different elements. However, I feel that if I added colour I might like it more.

Combinations of 'doodle' experiments

Organising data and using shadows

In this weeks tutorial I realised that most of my drawings consist of various lines so I wanted to experiment with different styles of drawing. I tried to push myself by producing a loose watercolour painting of flowers rather than accurate ones, and produced the painting below.

Watercolour flower painting

As well as doing this I played around with the image by collaging it with a line drawing (below left). I also cut up a scan of the painting into shapes and tried to re-organise them based on their colour (linking to taxonomy, and data collection), and the way that the colour merged (below right). Although I wasn't that pleased with the results, I learnt that I like contrasting line and watercolour, as well as using the paper as a way of documenting data, even if its just sorting an image into colours.

Manipulating scans of my drawings and arranging into data 

I also wanted to try and do some looser drawings to add variety to my work so I drew from plant shadows, drawing quickly because the plants were moving in the wind which helped me to achieve a loose drawing. I felt that these drawings were slightly out of my control as I just drew as quickly as I could before the sun went in, rather than consciously choosing which bits of the plant to draw which I thought added a really nice quality to my drawings. I definitely intend to develop on the idea of working with shadows next week, possibly on a larger scale.

Quick shadow drawings of plants outdoors

I also went out to take photos of various natural environments that I liked the colour, texture or composition of. I then studied a few of my favourite photos closely and represented them as data. I started doing this using Pie charts, but also dividing up rectangles in a similar way. I think the rectangle experiment worked better because I don't feel that using traditional data representation such as pie charts will suit my context.

Representing my photos as data

I think this could give me some good ideas for composition and I think that taking more photos like these could help the rest of my work as well.

Stitch: 3D samples

After creating my stitch samples last week, I felt like I needed to develop them further. I decided that the tight long stitches which i was using to replicate sound waves, could instead be suspended, by holding together card to create shapes.

I also tried to create an element of blurring in some of my photos to link in some other aspects of the project.

I thought the crossover of the straight threads created interesting geometric shapes.

For my last sample I decided to use a simple shape, but paint the threads with black ink in the shape of the song waves I have been working with from Piano Phase. I thought this was particularly effective when looking at the piece from an angle.

I thought that the stitches crossing over in my 3D samples might create some interesting shadows so (despite the camera quality) I decided to take some photos of the shadows I was creating. As well as casting shadows on the wall, I also cast them on the inside of the card to create this bent effect shown below.

Bending the card also made the yarn slack to create this wobbled effect. The black quality of the ink also showed up nicely in these images below when the light was shone on it.

Seeing the Exhibition!

After putting up my piece yesterday, I went in today to find the finished exhibition and it looked fantastic with everyone else's work in it! I am really happy with how my final piece turned out. I had a good position in the room and my cubes spun naturally due to the breezes from peoples movement. Because my space was so bright it was hard to cast shadows, but I did provide a labeled torch alongside my piece so people can cast their own shadows if its dark enough.

As a group, our Exhibition came together really well, we had pieces on the walls and the floor, and we had photos and installations. 

I also really loved looking around the rest of the exhibition to see how other groups had undertaken the collaborative brief of 175. I think the group called Action, (in Play) did a really good job of collaborating. They created these perspex triangles which all had each members art work on. I love the way their individual work came together as a vibrant and 3D installation piece.

I also loved this groups work. They created 'bricks' using yarns and wire, and placed them in an environment that was deteriorating, where bricks were missing. It created an interactive environment and I love the colours and textures. I also liked the way they worked collaboratively, as a few girls from textiles worked on this together.

Preparation for setting up the Exhibition tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the day that I get to go in to set up my work. Today I have finished my final piece and I am starting to think about the smaller details of how my piece will work together.

Above is a rough plan of how my piece is going to work. I am planning to suspend the cutout boxes in front of the missing words with invisible thread.

To link in with my shadow/enlarging theme, I have bought a torch to place alongside my piece some how. I have considered hanging it along side the piece with a tag (replicating the drink me label) saying "Light up the shadows" to give people a clue to see the swirling shadows created by the maze of each box.

Overall I am happy with the amount of boxes I have managed to do, as I think the piece has enough to it, without being so busy that it becomes confusing. As I used the words that existed on the page, this determined the layout. Without these restrictions, I would have used my own judgement on placing the boxes, to possibly create a more aesthetic layout. However, this method has allowed my final piece to develop in a more organic way, as I removed my control, which I think adds more character.

A Maze of Patterns!

When I sat down to do work this week, I definitely found myself being stuck for inspiration. I find it hard to work when I feel like this, and I kept trying to do things which didn't work! After pondering over the idea of shadows and light, I eventually thought about the idea of a 3D cutout shape which, when light was projected on it, would look like an illusion, or maze of patterns (linking to the theme of illusion as mentioned in my previous post).

This was the result, and I am happy with the outcome. Although it was hard to make, I can see myself doing multiples of these for my final exhibition, hanging them from the ceiling and allowing them to spin naturally due to drafts, casting a lovely spinning shadow on the wall behind.

I could also create a video to go along side my pieces (a bit like the one above) to show them shrinking and enlarging as the object got closer to the light source When the shadow is spinning this definitely creates the appearance of an illusion too.

More cutout shadow experiments!

Since doing the shadow experiments in a cardboard tube, I really wanted to continue with the idea of projecting shadows. I therefore decided to try and relate the idea of cutouts back to Alice and Wonderland a bit more literally, to give me some inspiration for new ideas.

I photocopied page 175 of Alice in Wonderland and cut out every 1st, 7th and 5th letter (relating to the 175 brief). This was the result which I am very happy with. The image below is a projection of the paper onto a massive wall, and I love how the shadow of the page keeps its clarity.

I then went onto experimenting with bending and curving the page to see what result this had, and how it affected the projected shadows.

The shadows grew as they expanded across the wall which is perfect for my shrinking and enlarging theme.  I also think the idea of shadows links well with the theme of illusion and confusion which I think is also a prominent theme in Alice in Wonderland, so I might try to incorporate this into some of my next experiments.

Shadow Art!

After doing some work based on shadows at the start of this week,  (http://jennasimpson94.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/inspired-by-anastassia-elias.html) and having a group tutorial, I have decided to look further into shadow art, as it interests me and I feel it would work well as an installation piece at the final exhibition.

I have found some artists which do very clever art with shadows, shown below. I like the idea of illusion because this is also a key theme in Alice in Wonderland. When first spotting some of the objects below, you may wonder what's so fantastic about them, until you see the shadow it casts and realise that its an amazing piece of art that captivates your imagination.

Fred Eerdekens

Fred Eerdekens

Kumi Yamashita

Tim Noble and Sue Webster

Kumi Yamashita

On a smaller scale, I found some other artists that use shadows in a simpler way which I think at times can be more effective. In terms of my work, I think repetition of shadows would suit my work well.

Christian Boltanski

http://www.subtours.com/cms/node/75

Cuentos Chinos (Chinese Stories) is an installation inspired by the traditional Chinese Shadow Theatre. In this installation the "actors" are cheap chinese products which were bought in the popular "all for one Euro" stores.
The products are conected with around 110 motors, solenoids, fans etc and distributed over 18 small theaters with 36x40 cm base. These sceneries are standing on top of Overhead projectors so that their moving shadows will be cast to the walls of the space. 

Kumi Yamashita

As development from this research, I will try experimenting with 3D sculptures that link to the work I have done so far, and see how they interact with shadows and light.