boxie-studios-blog - Tumblr blog

[boxie-studios-blog]

Soul of a Nation

Tate Modern

21/10/17 My friend from 'yellow productions' text me today asking if I would like to come with him to the Tate, to go and see soul of a nation. So we met up at millennium bridge and got into the exhibition at 20:30 and immediately went into the exhibition. The exhibition was quite crowded as a lot of people had come out to see the exhibition, especially people of colour which gave the exhibition a very nice fee, and that people are turning up to respect the suffering of black people, and there heritage. I expected the exhibition to be quite dull as it isn't anything that I have ever really thought about using in my art, but when seeing the exhibition it was really interesting and very eye opening. The exhibition ticked so many boxes for me, as the atmosphere in the exhibition was like no other, as usually when visiting exhibitions it's fully of white people who are posh and stuck up, whereas in this exhibition I found everyone very friendly and greeting which really gave the exhibition an extremely good ambiance. There was only one thing about the exhibition that didn't really make sense, as the exhibition was meant to be an exhibit for black artist but somehow Andy Warhol made an appearance which I thought was quite strange. Furthermore the exhibition had a good commentary and descriptions of the works presented which really brought a tear to my eye when reading. Overall the exhibition was something that I wouldn't usually go and see, but I found it very interesting and capturing.

[boxie-studios-blog]

[boxie-studios-blog]

Kenya Hara response

16/10/17 I have been looking at Kenya Haras info graphics and I have decided to make a similar piece of art, which is using similar arrows that he has used, but I have put my own caption on it. I printed the arrow onto sticker paper so that I could cut it out and stick it down easily. My caption has a meaning behind it and I could make many of them, for example I could litter them around London pointing out different issues, but for the time being I have made a couple and placed them around the college on the floor. I have taken pictures of what I have done, and it shows people walking past and having the caption be part of life.

[boxie-studios-blog]

Elephant and castle

14/10/17 Today i went out to lccs open day to look at a foundation course, we got there and it was only an undergraduate open day, therefore I decided to not go on the tour as I have already been around the uni on many occasions, ranging from workshops to gallery visits, especially one time when going to a type face workshop, at lcc me and a few friends went round the college just having fun and messing around thus I have seen the whole college and how it normally functions. Anyway seeing as I stayed at the open day for only a couple minutes, I decided to go round elephant and castle and look at its two wonderful pieces of modernist architecture, one being Alexander Fleming house and the other being the shopping centre. I went to both and took pictures of all round the shopping centre which came out pretty well, even though there have been many changes to the centre. I also took pictures of Alexander Fleming house with its brash walkways and massive windows with an optimum amount of light flow, this piece of architecture is truly a treasure of the modernist age.

[boxie-studios-blog]

Alexander Fleming house by Ernö Goldfinger

[boxie-studios-blog]

Elephant and castle shopping centre

[boxie-studios-blog]

Second life drawing class

11/10/17 on the 11th I attended my second life drawing session, in this lesson we where drawing on easels, and drawing from some objects on a table in the middle of the room. Unluckily I picked the short straw on this one, as I picket the dodgy easel which kept falling down, never the less I got it to stand by not pressing to hard on the page, so it wouldn't fall. Anyway I tried my best to draw as exact as possible but it didn't come out the best, not making excuses but possibly because I'm not used to using an easel, or drawing in charcoal and chalk. The task was quite enjoyable and passed me very fast, so I must have been enjoying it, and once agin will be attending the next class next week.

[boxie-studios-blog]

Life drawing session one

04/10/17 on the 4th I went too my first life drawing session that will be on for the next 4 weeks. In this session we where given an object behind our backs so we couldn't see it and we had to draw it solely on feel. When doing this task it was quite difficult, but I found that the finished drawing came out quite nicely. The finished art piece was quite imaginative as you might expect or imagine, I had been given a wheel of string, so not the most imaginative of items, but it came out nicely. The next task was to draw from the item while looking at it but add three things to it, being something natural, something moving and something still. I made the wheel of string be rather a string of hair, which was hanging off the wheel of string and swaying while the wheel of hair was still, ultimately combining all three factors. I found the work shop very enjoyable and I will be attending next week.

[boxie-studios-blog]

Art work

09/10/17 while strolling my way home from college and just making in my fine art lesson a piece of art that relates to the Basquiats exhibition, I had decided to draw and paint onto a piece of cardboard, and I found drawing onto this quite enjoyable and I liked the effect that it gave. So when walking back I stumbled upon a wooden backboard of a bed, that was lying on the side of the road therefore I decided to pick it up and take it back home with me. When picking it up I started to think have I made a mistake as it was quite heavy and I had a 20min walk in front of me. Nevertheless I pounded down the road to Essex road station and brought it onto the train. The journey back consisted of a lot of people giving me dirty looks and kissing their teeth at me as I was bringing a large piece of wood on a heavily packed train during rush hour, and it took up a lot of space that people must have thought that they could be using. Once arriving at my train station I lugged it off and brought it home. I left the bed board in the garage for the night. The next day 10/10/17 I decided to get out my toll kit and pull it apart, as I had my eyes on the beds central panels. So I grabbed a hammer, saw and chisel and after a while of sawing I poped the panels out, I kind of though it would have been easier but anyway the panels came out. I was then presented with two panels and a few pieces of wood. So later on or possibly the next day I got my room set up and started to use paint, pen, cardboard and masking tape to create a piece of art on the wooden bored. I drew from an image of a grimy backstreet on soho but created it in a constructivist way with brash and colourful red and blue pain. The piece has a meaning behind it to show that everything is a bit Boxie.

[boxie-studios-blog]

Boxie

[boxie-studios-blog]

Boxie [////]

[////] Boxie definition: stiff, or trapped, stuck in a system e.g. Everything is a bit Boxie or this venue is Boxie or this party is Boxie or Theresa May is Boxie

[boxie-studios-blog]

[boxie-studios-blog]

Graphics Collage

09/10/17 The task was to choose and look at a collage that you have never seen before and work from it, and use it to inspire your take on a similar work, thus I chose an anonymous artist but I really liked his use of layering and page presentation, through his long brash lines and architectural feel to the piece. So I decided to log onto my computer and look at some pictures that I had previously taken, when wandering around soho, the image was of one of sohos back streets with a yellow light box that belonged to a sex shop. I printed out this piece twice and the images where consisting of one in colour and the other in black and white. I layered these pieces with the black and white piece on top, and decided to cut out pieces of the black and white image, so the colour would come through from the coloured image behind it, therefore having a black and white image with some coloured features. I also decided to print grid lines onto tracing paper, as this is what my chosen collage also had, therefore I I decided to layer these pieces on top of the collage. Furthermore I cut out pieces of red and yellow paper and stuck these on which added a constructivist concept to my collage. The task carried out was very beneficial as it allowed me to create my own collage with aspects of another in it, that influenced into my work, thus making it be very creative and developed my page presentation and also developed my use of influences into my work. I have learnt as a result of this task how to use other pieces of work into my own. I will use this task as an influence to be able to capture other ideas and imbed them into my own ultimately creating a better piece.

[boxie-studios-blog]

Finsbury Health  Center Essay First Draft

What are the social needs that inspire the design of Finsbury Health centre?

‘Nothing is too good for ordinary people’ this is said by the famous modernist architect Berthold Lubetkin, and creator of Finsbury health centre.

Finsbury health centre is located in London in the borough of Finsbury on Pine Street, it was constructed and completed in 1938, and was at the forefront of modernist architecture at the time. The health centre was built for the needs of the people of Finsbury, and constructed to create a revolution in socialist views, leading to the creation of the NHS. Finsbury health centre has explored many issues in politics and all together sparked a new beginning in architecture in the U.K.. Finsbury health centre was constructed to show people the wonders and possibilities that can be made on the duality of healthcare and prominent new architecture.

  Ambiance of the health centre entrances/waiting room:

During the 1930s doctors surgery’s where much different to how they are today, they typically consisted of a dark prison like atmosphere, with not much space and tended to be quite dirty, and fundamentally made the patients have a lack of confidence in the practise. Doctors practises had a large sense of formality and a clinical feel, therefore doctors would just tell there patients what to do, rather than educating the patient and allowing the patient to vocalise how they felt. What made Finsbury health centre different was a devout Socialist leader Alderman Harold Riley, who dominated the polls at the time, with the backing of a young and strong modernist architect Berthold Lubetkin, to pave the way into the new era of helping the poor and providing a good new clean system.

  When Finsbury health centre was built, the borough of Finsbury was then London’s second smallest borough and was a densely packed slum, and scarcely ridiculed by green space. In response to this Finsbury health centre is filled with a homelike and cheerful atmosphere[1]. The atmosphere is created with a stew of factors, such as; the entrance being flooded with light, through the large glass brick walls, which are located either side of the main entrance  allowing a large amount of light flow throughout the centre. Also there are clean surfaces and bright colours expanding there way around the interior walls, including numerous pieces of artwork pasted upon them, producing a cheerful effect. In addition there is an air of efficiency surrounding the entrance and waiting area, which gives confidence to the patients. The waiting area was designed to feel like your front room or a social club for all to use, for example the entrance reached out to the borough of Finsbury by offering them a safe and comfortable area to go to and not be pressured, but be welcomed by a friendly nurses or doctors.

  Evidence of Lubetkin wanting the ambiance of the health centre to be safe and secure is shown through many different features, such as the bridge leading to the main entrance of the health centre is almost like a moat, making the centre feel secure, furthermore the health centre also has a large amount of green space, in front of the main entrance, which makes the centre look like a holiday home, or a getaway from its densely populated gloomy surroundings, with limited green space therefore by adding green space it reaches out to the people of Finsbury, by giving them a haven or reserve to go to. Additionally the original furniture in the centres waiting area is there to have a home like feel, for example the furniture consists of large coffee tables and cushioned chairs surrounding these, therefore rather than feeling like you are waiting in a clinical and cold doctors surgery that they once where like in 1930s it was more of a casual home like area which was friendly and greeting. Originally Lubetkin designed the health centre without a reception desk, as he wanted people to wander into the health centre without an appointment, sit down and eventually have a friendly nurse approach them and see how things where, this concept was put in place for Lubetkin to completely change the clinical and formal feel of the health service. Finally the health centre was very different to its surrounding buildings, it was brash bright and modern, and completely alien for the time, the health centre had clean bright surfaces that produced a cheerful effect, and allowed the patients to put their mind at ease, as they knew that the staff of the centre where overlooking it properly and doing their job. Conclusively the health centres explores many social needs, to fully give the proper necessity’s to the people of Finsbury, of a cheerful and expressive atmosphere that consolidates the primal social factors that every human requires.

   The effect that light gives due to the open planning of the building:

Finsbury health centre was designed by Lubetkin to have sun flow all through the building; therefore the sun would be beaming through its many windows, all hours of the day. The design of the building was very important, as it was to make sure that this vision would come alive, hence Lubetkin decided to create and design the building that could capture  this. The building is made up of three main parts, the entrance, being the main block squashed between two identical wings, thus making the building symmetrical, which allows the sun to beam through into the buildings many rooms. The reasons for Lubetkin designing the building with an all-round light flow is numberless, a few reason why are as such. During the 1930s London, and in particular the borough of Finsbury was covered in smog, therefore many people were plagued with rickets, thus Lubetkin wanted to create a building that would be able to have a good light flow, as ultimately many houses in the area are Victorian terraces, and are very dark and gloomy places with only one direction to capture light from, so Finsbury health centre out ruled all the other buildings in the area, by offering all day sun to the people of Finsbury. Furthermore Lubetkin wanted to offer the people of Finsbury a health centre that was a space that felt open and welcoming, so through the light flow it allows the rooms to not have a shut in feeling ergo the patients will feel more comfortable, free and open, which sequentially makes a better patient and allows the doctor to get to the issue in a better manor. Altogether Lubetkin believed that light is healing and a good light flow can help patients in many ways, thus is always a good property to have in a practise.

  Services offered

The health centre was not just designed to be an astonishing placement in modern architecture, but instead it was constructed to serve its true purpose, being helping the people of Finsbury, by giving them a service that caters for their health and wellbeing. When the health centre first opened in 1938 the borough of Finsbury was plagued by endemic diseases, and the people were not educated in health and wellbeing, therefore the health centre not only aimed to reach out to those suffering with diseases such as tuberculosis and rickets, but also to reach out and educate the people of Finsbury on healthcare and wellbeing. Everything in the centre was very carefully planned, the offices are located upstairs, and the treatment rooms where all easily accessible on the ground floor. The health centre had a tuberculosis clinic, dental surgery, a clinic for women, solarium and even a chiropodist[2]. By having all these means of health care the centre really reached out to the people of Finsbury and revolutionised the people’s opinions on healthcare, by giving people the proper treatment and education that was much needed, ergo reforming the area and giving ordinary people what they need. The centre reached out to the people and gave people hope that they much needed and gave them a vision of seeing change, as government was giving the people what they truly needed and this was shown in fully effect in the health centre.

In conclusion

Conclusively Berthold Lubetkin has carefully looked at the social needs of the borough of Finsbury, and brought to them to life by constructing a haven to help people, in an array of social factors.

By Cristian Francioso

[1] Lubetkin and Tecton: Architecture and social commitment, page 162, image top right.

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpM74_D879Y

[boxie-studios-blog]

more pictures from the  Ana Pallares trip

[boxie-studios-blog]

Jean-Michel Basquiat Exhibition at the Barbican

04/10/17 When suddenly waking up around twenty minutes late and having to rush out the house and run for the train, I realised that I had forgotten to turn the house alarm on, therefore I had to run back and do the whole process of locking up again. Anyway today I would be going to the Barbican to see the new Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibition at the Barbican. We started off by going from my college and walking down the road towards the Barbican so we set sail, cough while I was leading the way :). Just before getting to the Barbican, we walked under a bridge that obtained a piece of street art by Banksy which really got me hyped for the exhibition, as Banksy had combined Basquiats work alongside his own which was really beautiful. Once getting to the Barbican I felt like it was my second home, I already knew where the exhibition was as I have visited the Barbican an array of times, but that's a story for another day. We finally got into the exhibition and we had a tour guide taking us around, I found the tour guide interesting but quite intimidating at the same time, as the first things she said to our group was "no stupid questions" in a brash manner, from that point on I listened but done other personal tasks at the same time ;). But once seeing the many installations and artworks I fell in love with Basquiats work, especially as the first room we walked into consisted of photographs of the backstreets of new York that had graffiti on them, the photographs had been taken in New York during the 80s when it was a very run down city, full of crime and poverty and being run by gangs. Once seeing this it immediately linked with what I had been looking at a couple weeks ago, when I found myself traveling around Londons famous and iconic soho, where I decided to take photographs of the grimy backstreets of soho, and the brothels that are disguised as modelling rooms in the mix of everything. Basquiat works amazed me on so many different levels, with his brash colours and almost perfect colour composition, that are placed together very quickly. Basquiat also done many collaborations with many different artists ranging for many mixed medias, for example he created a piece of work with Anthony Warhol. When first arriving in Warhol studio, Basquiat found himself impressed and decided to rushed home and created a piece of art in around thirty minutes and rushed back to Warhols studio to show him, whilst the piece of art was still dripping with paint, Warhol was so taken back by the speed of the art being created alongside the the composition of colours and skill put into the piece, Warhol wanted to work with this young and creative artist as soon as possible. Many of Basquiats works impressed me in particular, his photography of many of New York's backstreet walls that had messages written upon them such as his famous word "SAMO" which is his abbreviation of "same old", I believe he uses this use of writing to show that New York will never change and will stay "SAMO". Basquiat uses "SAMO" with a lot of other wording to express a feeling or message, such as "SAMO THE SO CALLED AVANT-GARDE" this message was written upon a wall, and a photograph of this was shown along with many other similar messages in the gallery, which questioned the establishment of art. The questioning of the establishment shows a large portrayal of Basquiats life, as he didn't go through the system or how to make art, such as attending art college but instead found his own way and was influenced by his surroundings, and attending exhibitions that he could learn from, which links to one of his most famous quotes "I don't think about art when I'm working. I try to think about life.". Altogether I found the Basquiat exhibition very impressive, interesting and idea sparking, and also one of the best exhibition that I have been to for a long while.

[boxie-studios-blog]

Welcome Exhibition

03/10/17 On the 3rd of September I went with my graphics class to the welcome exhibition in Euston, the exhibition consisted of many instillations and artworks, exploring manny different sides of graphic design. Due to the exhibition exploring a lot of graphic design and having a collective amount, it allowed me to explore these works and spark ideas in my mind and hopefully I can use these ideas in my work, as now I feel that the exhibition has allowed me to think less narrow minded and set on one idea or route as I was previously. An example of my ideas being expanded is due to there being so many graphic design books that explored page presentation, which has helped me take into consideration how to present my pages better, and therefore use this and using to the full my love of negative space.