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Assignment 3 - Making the Booklet

Above is the final result of the joined photographs and with the blended intersections. Using this continuous photograph, I split them into equal and proportional pages in Adobe Illustrator. I resized the photograph to fit the a4 pages and split it into 12 equal segments to fit next to one another.   I also allowed room for a border, as we had planned on adding some text.

For the text, we were initially going to write something, whether it be academic or poetic. But Lachlan found something interesting and relevant poems which would work throughout our photographs. He chose a poem called Feliks Skrzynecki by Peter Skrzynecki. 

This work is about the difficulty for foreigners and immigrants to assimilate into society, in which he references to Post war Australia. Some of the issues he highlights include displacement, nostalgia, memories and sometimes racism with the underlying theme of hope throughout his poem.

https://www.lyrikline.org/de/gedichte/feliks-skrzynecki-1700#.We8nkWiCw2w

Lachlan rewrote the poem out and sent me the file. He handwrote it digitally to create a more personal and intimate feeling between the photographs and the text. We wanted it to circle around the whole artwork so that it created that circular, continuous notion and memories, history and connection between family, we well as the cycle of time and the continuous stream of the ‘now’.

Below is the written text that will fit around the border of the joined 12 a4 pages.

Because Lachlan put the writing on the same sized border I had made, it was easier for me to merge the photographs and the text. I had to make sure that the text continuously flowed because in illustrator, there were small gaps between the pages. 

This is what the complete artwork would look like if the pages were all connected.

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Gabriel Orozco ‘Sandstars’

‘Sandstars’ is a 2 part artwork that incorporates photographs and an installation. The installation is map up of items from the photographs, which are items he found at his local beach which are then organised very meticulously. The photographs are a form of documentation of the wide variety of found objects. The exhibit features both the physical collected objects and photographs of the objects, creating a comparison of the 3D and 2D. This aspect is similar to our artwork as it incorporates physical items as well as photographs and documents.

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Song Dong ‘Waste Not’

This installation, sculptural artwork displays 10,000 domestic objects which were hoarded by his late mother. The organisation and personal connection that between artist and artwork were an influence on how we developed and executed the creation of our booklet. His collection of meaningful and meaningless items demonstrate how simple objects can hold more meaning and importance then what may be perceived by the audience.

The extremely large scale was another influence on how we produced and organised everything. The installation’s extraordinary size allowed the audience to immerse themselves in the piles and groups of miscellaneous items and the overwhelming number of items. When we created our layout, we used real items and laid them out along 3 tables, spanning over 4 metres long. Our fellow classmates found all the items very interesting, especially since the line of items was very long, allowing themselves to really look and understand what each object was.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2012/feb/14/song-dong-waste-not-in-pictures

http://carriageworks.com.au/events/song-dong-waste-not/

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Jim Golden

We found influence from Jim Golden not only because of his style of photographs but also his introduction of an item that has a direct emotional connection to himself. The satisfying aesthetic of his artworks are very intrigue and draw attention. This almost pattern-like construction is a simple and effective way to organise items that would otherwise look like a mess.

Satisfaction and aesthetic of the photographs draw the audience forcing them to consider tiny differences. Golden also said that each of his photographs have an emotional core. An example is a photograph he took of camping gear, where one of the torches was an item he had as a kid. This introduction of an emotional and personal item, creates more meaning and connection with the artist whether the audience know this or not.

‘I strive to capture the pared-down essence of my subjects, rather than impose a false sense of beauty upon them. The viewer is invited to enjoy an often-inanimate object for its stark simplicity or quiet quality.’ - Jim Golden

http://www.lebook.com/studies/art-personal-project-jim-golden

https://www.jimgoldenstudio.com/About-Jim/1

https://www.wired.com/2013/09/this-photographer-is-a-high-class-hoarder/

http://au.phaidon.com/agenda/photography/articles/2013/august/21/jim-goldens-still-lifes/

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Assignment 3 - Blending the Photos

There were 9 photos that Lachlan sent me that included all the items and some were in 2 images. This allowed me to effectively blend the different photos together

The first thing I did with the photos was resize them and find the best position for the photos to be joined together. I also made sure that the size of the documents was the same as 12 A4 pages to ensure that all the photos would fit in the requested size.

To blend the join between photos, I used the colour locator tool and the brush tool to overlap and create a gradient between the photos, especially those that had a shadow or a greater colour difference. I then used the smudge tool to the blend the photos together even better. 

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Assignment 3 - Quotes

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Assignment 3 - Assembling

We gather together all our different items and momentos and organised them in chronological order. I brought a long sheet of brown paper which we laid everything on top of as a background. We arranged them in an orderly line across the paper.

After assembling everything we decided to write a few phrases that directly relate to some of the items or had relevance and importance in illustrating a stories among the other items. The quotes were spread out across the whole piece and we wrote around 3-5 each. 

After we had finalised all our quotes and made sure all the photos were in chronological order, Lachlan took photos of the pieces laid out together. 

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Assignment 3 - Collecting items

After discussing our grandparents’ response to our questions, we tried to think up some sort of way to represent their responses but we came up with a blank. After discussing with Andrew about different ways we could create a discussion in our booklet, we thought about the notion that the ‘now’ is the ever changing now and an individual’s perception of the now as they progress through time. 

We decided to explore the different perceptions of time through the changes between our grandparents and us during present time, beginning when our grandparents were born and the current perception of now. We wanted to collect items that have meaning and representation during our lives, our grandparents and parents. 

The first image is the items that represent items for my dad’s mum, the second for my dad and the final was for me. A few of the items represent more than just one of us and flow the connection between us. 

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Assignment 3 - Interview

Through the last few weeks, my group has discussed the theme ‘Now’ and how we could explore this. We started discussing how our grandparents ‘now’ can also be defined as what they believed would have been their future. The definition of ‘now’ was also was also considered as our definition would be very different from how our grandparents would perceive the present.

We developed a series of questions/topics that we wanted to discuss with our grandparents. The first was what they, as children/youth our age, perceived the future to look like for them, where they would live, work, what the world would look like and technology etc. The second was what their current perspective is as adults/elderly, about what the world looks like to them, how things have changed (if they have) between their younger perspective. The final question explores what they perceive to be our generations/or specifically our own view of the world to be. 

I interviewed my dad’s mother who was born and raised in Australia with the strong influence of Chinese culture within the Australian environment. She was very young during the second world war but through out her life, the repercussions were experienced.

Her response to the first question was that at the time, for a young female, marriage was the goal and having security. Her response to the second question was interesting as she mostly spoke about how complicated and conflicted the world has become especially due to the increased communications that allows for all individuals to be connected and interlinked no matter the distance between them. During her time, everyone lived in their own local bubble, whereas now everyone has to consider all cultures and people. The final question was quite a bit harder for her to respond to as this was nothing like she had ever considered or contemplated. Her response was mostly that the younger generations no expect an easy way into life and living and has the expectation to find time to travel and have a good job.

This is the recordings of the conversation: https://soundcloud.com/katrina-lowe-364769415/sets/adad1002-assignment-3-interview

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Week 11 Activity

This week’s theme was desire and we focused on Amalia Ulman and her 2014 collection ‘Excellences and Perfections’ produced on instagram. She created desire and envy from her audience through the illusion of her perfect life and social media aesthetics. 

We decided to focus on this ideal physical life and the use of technologies. We have designed a product that is wearable and changeable. It is a bodysuit that can be worn and then by taking a photo of finding a photo online, the bodysuit projects/displays the physical image. This product fuels the user’s desires and creates a desire of those who view the item on the user. The bodysuit not only changes the image of the clothing but also the body shape and skin tone of the user.

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Assignment 2 - Artist Statement

My final artwork is a product of my initial poster and the concept produced for assignment 1, my series of experiments and my research into artists that used walking as a basis for their artworks. I produced a film utilising the visuals of a short walking journey and a commentary of the experience while on the journey. The commentary was delayed for added effect.

All my experiments used walking in some form and all were completed in pairs using the same journey to produce the experiment. My first 2 experiments didn’t present any specific idea and had no particular purpose other than exploring ways of communicating a particular journey I took. My next 2 experiments strayed from the usual method of description and convey a particular path. In These experiments, I used audio from the walk and while walking, I wrote down the interactions and ‘communication’ I had with other people. This pair explored the more abstract experience and allowed the audience to imagine what the journey would feel like. The final experiments were done in a different environment that was more organic and natural. These experiments explored the closed off visual experience and the physical feeling of walking. The particular methods I chose allows the audience to really immerse themselves in the experience and calls on the audience to use their imaginations using these 2 abstract descriptions.

To produce my final work, I chose a path in Surry Hills to walk. I continued the theme of using pairs of different methods to describe and demonstrate a journey. This particular pairing was a mix of audio, visual and sensory experience explained through a voice over. While walking I filmed the visuals of what I saw when walking and at the same time recorded my voice explaining the experience of walking. This included describing things I heard, the feeling and atmosphere and directions I took, a lot like a commentary on my journey as I walked it. When I was editing the audio, I found that the microphone picked up sounds of the environment, like the wind, my breathing, crackling of leaves and cars driving past. Though they were a distraction from my voice, it added to the atmosphere and feeling as if the audience were joining me on the walk. The background sounds which are often ignored added realism to the walk and the changing tones in my voice some emotion to the walk.

The film explores how the different senses have a play in communicating a journey and for the audience to distinguish between the film and the voice over. This film uses walking in an urban setting as the subject and the method to explore how different forms of communication affect how the audience perceive and understand a journey and can experience it. When matching the audio and visuals, I decided to delay the audio by a few seconds, this created a confused and staggered experience.

Alys F, ‘Francis Alys’, in Francis Alys. 2017, viewed 19 September 2017. http://francisalys.com/

N/A, ‘Vito Acconci’, in Guggenheim. 2017, viewed 25 September 2017. https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/vito-acconci

N/A, ‘Vito Acconci, Following Piece’, in Khan Academy. 2017, viewed 25 September 2017.   https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/global-culture/conceptual-performance/a/vito-acconci-following-piece

N/A, ‘About’, in Walking Artists Network. 2016, viewed 19 September 2017. http://www.walkingartistsnetwork.org/about/

Schneider CM, ‘The Ten List: Walk as Art’, in Glasstire. November 2012, viewed 19 September. http://glasstire.com/2012/11/23/the-ten-list-walk-as-art/

Wood J, ‘Artworks’, in Jeremy Wood. 2016, viewed 25 September 2017. http://www.jeremywood.net/artworks.html

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Assignment 2 - Final Artwork

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Assignment 2 - Vito Acconci

‘The Following Piece’ 1969 -  Explores movement of the body and relation to space -  Following different strangers each day for a month, seen in New York City -  Follow until they go into a building -  Wrote accounts for each day -  Explores the language of the body      * How we move and act in public      * Projection of ourselves -  Slightly invasive project       * Interesting results and problems he came across       * Unexpected results       * Allowed for the process to produce the artwork

‘Following Piece, potentially, could use all the time allotted and all the space available: I might be following people, all day long, everyday, through all the streets in New York City. In actuality, following episodes ranged from two or three minutes when someone got into a car and I couldn’t grab a taxi, I couldn’t follow – to seven or eight hours – when a person went to a restaurant, a movie.’ – Vito Acconci

https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/vito-acconci

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/global-culture/conceptual-performance/a/vito-acconci-following-piece

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Assignment 2 - Jeremy Wood

Jeremy Wood has produced several photographic artworks that use walking and GPS tracking to produce an image

‘Thirteen Years of Mowing’ 2013 and 2009 -  Created a series of images ranging over different periods of time -  Gps drawings of the mowing of a single lawn/area -  ‘A story of an on-going relationship with a private space’ -  The representation of the never ending maintenance and gardening -  Uses a single act done several times over a lengthy period of time

‘Traverse Me’ 2010 -  Produced over 17 days -  Used gps tracking of where he walked (238 miles) -  Produces a map that outlines free space on the University of Warwick campus in England -  Final artwork collection included images of only his path and images of overlaying of tracking and satellite images -  Interesting visual representation of an area that is only drawn with lines that may not directly represent the piece of land

http://www.jeremywood.net/artworks.html 

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Assignment 2 - Experiment 5 + 6

For these next 2 assignments, I have continue the theme of duo experiments done in the same walk. This one I did in a more residential, ‘rural’ environment near my house. The environment is more bush so some of the walking was in bush/areas with no footpath. 

For the fifth experiment, I focused on a visual method of communicating by filming my feet as I walked. This was a different method as it was a visual description was didn’t give the whole view. This also showed the different perspective and the variety of paths I walked on. 

The sixth experiment is another list, but this one is more about the feeling of walking and the physical attributes of the journey. As I walked along, I wrote down different descriptions on my phone, these included that texture/feeling of the ground, things that I walked on and the topography of the ground. This form of description allows for the audience to use their own imagination to visualise what the walk would be like. 

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Assignment 2 - Experiment 3 + 4

I wanted to continue producing 2 experiments from a single journey. In these experiments, I explored different methods of communicating a certain journey. In comparison to the first 2 experiments, these were a lot shorter and I focused on walking as the form of transport. 

https://soundcloud.com/katrina-lowe-364769415/experiment-3 

The third experiment communicated the walk through audio alone. I wanted to create the sensory experience of the walk that when the audience listen to it, they could imagine walking down a street. The day that I recorded the audio, it was very windy so the audio recorded had a lot of noise and wind so the other sounds can’t always be distinguished. It still turned out alright because as I was walking, I also couldn’t hear very well because of the wind.

The fourth experiment was a written description and plotting of my walk. This list is the different times that I ‘communicated’ with someone. This included eye contact, giving way and the usual definitions of communication. This experiment gives a more abstract description of the walk and focuses on interactions rather than visuals and the easier senses to understand.

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Assignment 2 - Experiment 1 + 2

My first 2 experiments were produced at the same time. I produced them by tracking where I went during a single day. Starting at Pymble, travelling to UNSW Art and Design, Chatswood and ending at the beginning. 

The first experiment is a tracking of my travelling, colour coded to represent different modes of transport. The dark blue is train, medium blue is the bus and the light, fluro blue is walking. I wanted to further explore walking and since I couldn’t come up with any experiments, I wanted to start something that involved walking/transport. 

The second experiment is another map of my travellings but this one represents the interactions and ‘communication’ I had with different people. This experiment has more of a connection to my first assignment and the idea of walking as a form of communication between individuals.