jennysartdesignstuff

[jennysartdesignstuff]

Mutations Workshop

Mutations Session

The aims of this session were to explore the contrast and juxtaposition of imagery to create mutated bio-mechanical drawings and to try and understand visually the interconnected and hybrid relationship between the anatomical body and the machine.

We started by responding to the idea of Man & Machines, generating keywords such as enhanced, alteration, manipulation, implant, prosthetic and body horror. 

Next we looked at the work of artists Guiseppe Arcimboldo, Masumune Shirow and Jason Gonzalez and documented our first responses. We came up with the suggestion that Arcimboldo’s man made up of utensils may be trying to convey the question of wether humans are just instruments of life. Shirow’s cartoon showed features of the human body being replaced by machine and I wondered whether that was showing how in the future replacement of body parts might replace healing. With Gonzalez’ work I thought that he depicted his cyborg in front of a background full of books in order to show the juxtaposition of old and new. 

After that we watched two clips from films and recorded our first impressions of these too. First we watched Ghost in the Shell (2017) which was abut the rise of machine. It showed robotics aiding terrorism, which is a real future risk for the human race. In the film they said that 73% of the world was using cyber technology, but one of the characters was saying that it posed a risk to personal identity and damages the soul which reflects the fears surrounding the evolution of cyber technology in the real world. The next clip we watched was from a film called Akira (1988), made by Katushiro Otomo. This was an animation film about a character who took medication to give himself telekinetic powers and who also has a robotic arm. He loses control of his powers and begins to mutate until you can no longer tell what is human and what is machine. It was very strange but also interesting as he mutated into a fetal form, which made me wonder whether Otomo was trying to suggest that the body was trying to resort back to  the earliest human form in order to protect itself from the damage caused by robotics. 

Then, after we watched the clips, we went off to do individual preliminary research on artist Eduardo Paolozzi, which I will expand on in a future post.

Finally we came to the part of the session where we created our own mutated bio-mechanical drawings. I did this by taking a photo of myself and cutting out chunks of the face and head with and scalpel. I then cut out parts of mechanical drawings and stuck them into the gaps of the photograph so the it appeared that the mechanical parts were part of the photograph. Then I used tracing paper to draw this new image, which is shown in the photo above. This new image demonstrates the possible future of cyber technology with people replacing the ear and face with something enhanced. It also has aspects of body horror, with the face and head torn apart to make way for cyber technology. I want it to cause the viewer to start questioning whether the growing advancements in cyber technology is actually a good thing. I think that we should be slightly afraid of it because it’s unnatural, we’re not made to be torn apart and altered. If we’re afraid then maybe we can save ourselves from becoming something we’re not supposed to become. However, I also see the advantages of cyber technology and robotics, especially in medicine. It’s already being used for amputees to allow then to walk again or move things. I think the problem only arises when we start enhancing things for the sake of enhancement.

I used fine liner to create this image, using mostly line drawing. I think it’s effective as the black and white reflects the mechanical and technological aspects of the drawing. The lines do the same. 

I think the ideas and work I have produced meet the aims and objectives set out at the start of the session as I have explored the pros and cons of bio-mechanics and have created my own bio-mechanical drawing which reflects these ideas.

Next I would like to draw close ups of a face altered by bio-mechanics, especially the eye. For this I will need to follow the same technique so I will need to find suitable mechanical parts to fit in the gaps cut out. I would also like to look into how cyber technology and robotics are aiding space travel, as this is my chosen area of focus, perhaps drawing an enhanced astronaut.

The next day’s session was all about digitally manipulating our images on photoshop. First I scanned my drawing in. Then, on photoshop, I tidied up the image by adjusting the levels and erasing any imperfections from the scan. After that I applied colour overlays and gradients to the image, experimenting with bands of colour. The new images emphasise the fun of growing technology, instead of the warnings. The bright colours depict cyber technology as something new and exciting and something to play around with. This experimental factor is emphasised by the repetition of the head in the first image, as something we can try again and again.

[jennysartdesignstuff]

Glitches Workshop

The aims of this session were to consider how many ways you can alter, adjust, manipulate and edit imagery using basic techniques and to create at least 10 alternative visions of yourself using cutting, slicing, shredding, screwing, folding, tearing and  xerography (using the photocopier to manipulate images).

Using the photocopier was interesting. The techniques we used with it were moving the master copy whilst it was photocopying to morph the image and applying colour overlays. I created the blue and red image I’ve posted by applying a blue overlay and photocopying. I then placed that image in the multi-purpose tray, moved the master copy slightly on the photocopying glass and applied a red overlay and printed over the top of the blue image. But I didn’t only use xerography to alter the image of myself - I also sliced and tore both the original image and the images created using the photocopier. I used a technique called Venetian Blind where you slice the image into strips and offset the strips when you glue in back together.

The effect of the new images is the feel that self-image isn’t as important and society views it to be. My new images convey messages of feeling lost and frustrated, maybe towards society for trying to control the way I look and behave and, ultimately, how I feel. For example, in the Venetian Blind image (that I’ve included in the post) the eyes being placed upside down draws attention to the eyes and the eyes look lost.

Self-image is mainly important because we tell ourselves that it is, we believe it’s the only way to express who we are to the outside world. However the problem comes from society telling us we should all be the same, inside and out and that uniqueness is bad. Furthermore, many people don’t realise that there are many ways to express yourself. The danger is that if we all continue to try and be like everybody and squash people who are different there will be a destruction of the production of anything new and exciting. Technology would stop evolving as people would be too scared to suggest a way of doing things differently.

The work links to the xerography experiments of Bruno Munari (am example is above). As you can see he also used the method of moving the paper as it scanned to create a morphed effect. He also worked with glitches, showing images as if they’re malfunctioning which helps create. His work has a lot of movement.

I think the work I’ve created effectively meets the aim of the session as not only have I created new alternative images but I’ve also started to challenge the ideas of self-image and attempted to show those views through the work I’ve created.

Next I would like to experiment with some of the other techniques suggested in the aims of the session that I didn’t have time to use this time, such as folding and screwing up the image. I’d also like to use someone else’s image in conjunction with mine to create a new morphed image.

[jennysartdesignstuff]

What Does the Future Look Like

Utopian

One possibility is a utopian future. This would be where nature and mankind live in harmony and technology has evolved to aid us without the destruction of personality or human soul. I’d like to think there would be advanced inventions such as driverless cars or hover cars and teleportation. There may even be exciting developments such as time travel! In this sort of future there would be peace and tranquility and people would be happy and well looked after by the government.

Dystopian

Another possibility is a dystopian future where everything has gone wrong. There would be collapsed buildings, people at war with one another and anarchy. This could occur from a collapse in the government or possibly technology gone wrong - or it could be something more far-fetched such as an alien invasion! Typically there would be a destruction of both the natural and manmade world.

Living in Space

With the current rate of advancement in space travel it’s not unfeasible that soon there will be commercial flights into space - the idea is already being played with by companies such as Virgin Galactic. So is it possible that one day we’ll find a planet suitable to live on? Especially if we outgrow our own world with over population.

There are lots of possibilities for the future, the only thing we can do is wait and see!

[jennysartdesignstuff]

Umberto Boccioni by Anton Giulio Bragaglia

This is a photograph of artist Umberto Boccioni, taken by Anton Bragaglia and is an example of his Photodynamism. Traditionally photos like this were taken with a long exposure time (typically around 30 seconds) and against a black background to emphasise the lighter skin tones. 

This particular image draws upon the effect of shape and tone. The shapes created by the overlapping planes are very attractive and undetermined - there are only a few definite shapes like the ears, an eye and the nose. The tone is almost transparent, creating an eery effect. The colour of the image, which is monochrome, is decided by the technological allowances of the time that the photograph was taken, meaning that no other option was available. However, I believe that even if more colour options were available that Bragaglia would most likely have still chosen to show the image in black and white for the effect created.

The photograph is part of the Italian Futurist movement and is of Boccioni, one of the lead artists in this movement. The movement itself was all about the technological advances of the early twentieth century so a new style of photography was an appropriate manifesto.

The image perfectly captures continuous movement through time and space. That being said, the image is almost ghost-like and gives the impression of the subject existing in more than one mortal plane which leaves the viewer feeling uneasy.

[jennysartdesignstuff]

‘Armoured Train In Action’ by Gino Severini

This painting was created with oil on canvas and depicts 5 figures in an armoured car aiming rifles in unison. Severini had an aerial view of a train station from his studio during World War 1 and witnessed trains transporting soldiers and weapons. This painting captures what he saw.

The colours of this painting speak to show us how unnatural war is with the cool mechanical shades of green and blue against the warm natural shades of green and yellow around the edges of the painting. For Severini this was exciting and desirable. The shapes are very geometric, showing the effect of Cubism on the Futurist movement but also emphasising the newness of the technology involved in this first fully mechanised war.

The image prompts me to think about the coldness of war, although I understand that Severini supported the war. I think the message was to depict war as a way to a new and brighter future and that this disruption of nature is only temporary and worthwhile as the world afterwards would be more desirable.

[jennysartdesignstuff]

Cyclist Crossing Through the City by Fortunato Depero

This painting by Fortunato Depero depicts a cyclist passing as stone buildings collapse in the background. It was created in Italy with oil on board in 1945, the end of World War 2 in. The line and shape of the buildings are straight and square, which is in contrast to the curved lines and shapes of the cyclist, making the cyclist stand out against the background. Furthermore the colour does the same as the buildings are painted in reds, oranges and pinks whilst the cyclist is in green (which is red’s complimentary colour) and black. This shows what is alive against what is collapsing and dying, and what is natural against what is manmade.

The collapsing buildings are traditional stone buildings showing the fall of culture and the therefore rise of modern life. This is what the Futurists believed in - they believed that the destruction of war would burn away the evils of the past clearing the way for a new order to arise in its place. The cyclist is forever moving forward and persists despite the ground beneath him is uneven and the known world around him is being destroyed, hsownign how mankind will ultimately survive and bring the future. 

[jennysartdesignstuff]

Futurism

In the early 1900s Italy lagged behind other countries in its industrial development. A group of young artists and writers (who tired of Italy’s declining status) formed in order to celebrate industrialisation and technology. Furthermore, it was felt by some that Itlay’s past culture was weighing down and preventing progression into the future. This began the Futurism movement, led by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, a poet. It began when Marinetti wrote his ‘Futurist manifesto’ on the front page of the French newspaper Le Figaro. It’s key members were Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carra, Gino Severini and Luigi Russolo, who were all Italian painters.

Although predominantly an Italian movement, Futurism quickly grew into an international movement and manifestos were drawn up for most forms of art including painting, sculpture, architecture, music, photography, cinema and clothing.

The main themes were anything modern at the time such as the car, the area plane and the industrial city. Paintings depicted anything from buildings in Fortunato Depero’s Gratticieli e tunnel 1930 to bicycles in Cyclist by Natalia Goncharova in 1913. They also focused on the idea of continuous movement throughout space and time as shown in Giacomo Balla’s Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash 1912. The Futurists sought to depict an object’s rhythm and movement.

Futurism was one of the most politicised movements of the twentieth century, merging artistic and political agendas to enact change. Members would hold Futurist evenings where they would present art and recite poems, whilst also shouting ideas of a political nature at the crowd, hoping to start a riot. They believed that the aggression and agitation would propel Italy forward, leaving behind the past culture. Inciting this sort disruption, the Futurists were keen supporters of World War 1. Many of the members enlisted, including lead painter Boccioni who was trampled to death after falling from his horse during training. After the war ended the Futurists struck up an alliance with Benito Mussolini and his National Fascist Party. New members joined, creating a second generation of Futurism.

From 1929 through to the early 1940s a major expression of the second generation of Italian Futurism was Aeropittura. The excitement of flight offered aeroplanes and aerial views as a whole new subject matter. Eventually there were over a hundred aeropainters.  

Whilst the Futurists declared their work to be original there as some clear elements of other movements working as an inspiration for their work. For example in the Autumn of 1911 Marinetti and the other Futurist painters to a trip to Salon d’Automne in Paris and saw Cubism for the first time. Paintings created by the Futurists directly after this visit show aspects of Cubism in their nature, for example Boccioni’s Materia 1912.

[jennysartdesignstuff]

Reaction to Brief

The title of the new brief is ‘Future Shocks’. When I research future shocks I discovered that it was a state of panic and unease about the future, you can suffer from future shock. 

I came across a quote by Syd Mead saying ‘in visual futurism, the line between total fantasy and futuristic is a thread of reality.’ I think this means that you can’t created a visual representation of the future without including elements of the present age if you want it to be realistic. There needs to be something recognisable in your vision because new discoveries are developed from what already exists. I will use this idea to guide me through this project.

My automatic reaction to the brief was to think about a dystopian future of chaos and anarchy, mankind destroying the natural world. I then thought about the opposite, mankind protecting the world. Then I thought about a less extreme future and what that might look like. This led me to start to consider the future of space and space travel, which has always fascinated me. Therefore I think I will choose interstellar as my focus for this project.

[jennysartdesignstuff]

Henri Matisse

Matisse’s work began with more traditional painting with unrealistic colours and exaggerated lines and shapes. However, in this comparison I will be focusing on his later work with cut-outs which he began making after he was confined to a wheelchair after major surgery. His placement of colour ignores all previous theories of colour such as complimentary colours, but you can see in the example (The Snail, 1953) that his colours are very effective. The piece comes across as being very naive with child like shape and colour choices. 

Ellsworth Kelly 

Kelly’s work is very simplistic with bright, vibrant colours. The contrasting colours draw the viewer into the large canvases. His shapes lack detail - the effect of this is that you are not distracted from the colour, you are forced to experience the colours in their entirety.

Wallsily Kandinsky

Kandinsky’s art is very different from that of Matisse and Kelly. His shapes are more detailed and numbered, and he uses a larger variety of colours on one canvas. His canvases are busy and chaotic and feel quite unsettling.

Comparison

Matisse’s and Kelly’s work consists of blocks of colour without any mixing or blending, unlike Kandinsky’s which does. Kandinsky also experiments more with translucency, with the light from the white of the canvas shining through some of his colours, whereas Matisse’s and Kelly’s colours are always opaque. Although, the three artists all use bright vibrant colours.

[jennysartdesignstuff]

I’m constantly investigating nature - nature, meaning everything.

Ellsworth Kelly

[jennysartdesignstuff]

Wood Workshop

Aim

I set out to learn the basics of using the wood workshop room and produce a small MDF construction.

Discuss

First of all the group I was in received a talk about the basic and health and safety aspects of the room. The technician then showed us how to use the band saw and sanding disk power machines. We also had access to hand saws and vices. Then we got a chance to create anything nature related out of MDF so I chose to creat a cow, inspired by our class trip to the meadow on Remeberance Avenue.

The Effects of Visual Language 

I wasn’t set on creating an intense piece of artwork as I was just playing around with the machines. That being said, the final piece speaks of shape and form.

What’s next?

To develop the wooden cow I might paint it so that it is more recognisable as a cow.

To develop in the wood workshop I would like to create textured relief plates to then use for relief printing.

[jennysartdesignstuff]

Print Room Workshop

Aims

The main aim of this workshop was to be introduced to the print room and to relief printing. I created a relief print which is shown above.

Discuss

First of all Kitty, the print technician, gave the group a talk on the health and safety aspects of the print room and showed us the process of relief printing. The process started with selecting a small number of wooden relief blocks from a selection made by previous students. They had texture engraved into them. I then used rollers to apply oil-based ink to the relief plates. After that it was time to select paper to print on to and move to the relief press. To produce the print you lift the flap and layer your blocks (in the formation you want), the page you’re printing on to and newspaper (as packing to cushion the print). You have to use trail and error with the amount of newspaper used in order to achieve the ideal tension. You then roll your work under the press and pull down on the lever and your print is done.

It is hard to introduce fine detail to the print unlike with Lino printing. The advantage, however, is that you can produce a large body of work in a short periood time.

The Effects of Visual Language 

Colour and shape were my main focus when creating this print. I wanted to create something vibrant that would stir up happiness and playfulness in the audience.

What’s Next

I would like to use the wood workshop to create my own relief blocks to customise the print more. I’d also like to use a larger range of colour,. I would like to experiment with pairing primary colours with secondary colours, an idea I came across whilst researching Sonia Delaunay.