Contextual: Hans Bellmer

Hans Bellmer (13 March 1902 - 23 February 1975)

"He initiated his doll project to oppose the fascism of the Nazi Party by declaring that he would make no work that would support the new German state. Represented by mutated forms and unconventional poses, his dolls were directed specifically at the cult of the perfect body then prominent in Germany."

I have always been interested in the idea of removing or altering something to change how people see it. I was having trouble on trying to find ways of working with concepts that I find interesting into this project. But the human body is instantly recognisable, even in its crudest representations. But how would the body look of I altered major defining aspects, such as the head, torso or arms?
The idea of mirroring objects came from my earlier facial prints, and while I really like the effect of using paint to do this, I felt like I could communicate this idea better through the use of photography and minor editing. The effects I used are basic to say the least, and the idea really came out of nowhere.

 

 

The human body has the ability to create so many emotions in people, but it is the ability to unsettle that I find the most intriguing. The naked body has many connotations, sexual and otherwise. But can nudity be used to unsettle and disgust? While these were done on a whim of inspiration, this is a concept that I would like to come back to at a later date.

These images have been heavily inspired by one of my favourite artists, Hans Bellmer. Contextual work to follow.

Recently, I have been looking into the space my body occupies within my own space, such as my physical surroundings. I believe that this is an interesting concept and I wish I had decided on something as simple earlier in the year, with that said, I doubt I would be confident enough to step outside of my comfort zone if I didn't feel so lost in regards to my work for so long.
I find mirroring images to be an interesting method of showing the body, even if it isn't groundbreaking it is effective.
Basically I painted my face using red lino paint and placing a piece of paper over my face. The nose and lips in the center is my face looking straight on, while the left and right profiles are the result of bending the sheet over both sides of my face.
Hopefully more attractive work to follow!

sickness and a crushing lack of inspiration

The last two weeks have been a complete disaster for me as both my college attendance and ability to create work has suffered. Now that I am well again I feel that I have the chance to really redeem myself and make amends for my shortcomings.
Over the past few weeks I have been looking into objects around my own space, and the relationship between these objects and my own body. I will hopefully have a series based around this concept completed for my assessment on the 8th of January 2013.

Back to the start

After meeting with my tutor today, we discussed where I was going with the cocoon idea and I was advised to go back to my original idea of "creating a sense of a large, open space in a confined space". I feel like there is more chances of exploration here, even if it is more difficult. I have decided to find some confined spaces and photograph them.

Cocoons

During last week, I started making 'cocoon' like structures out of chicken wire and thin fabric. I soaked the fabric in water and ink first and attached it to the wire shell using liquid latex.
In reality, you are able to see through the fabric and into the cocoon.

Ramble!

After thinking about where my project was going with the ideas I had developed, I felt like they were disjointed, almost as if I was working on a series of different pieces, rather then working on a single brief.
I am quite happy with the developments I have made so far - the idea of a man made confined space and experimentation with sound, and now the cocoons. So I have decided to use these elements and combine them for a 'body' of work that is more personal.

The confined space work will hopefully be able to capture the insecurities I had growing up, such as feelings of separation, isolation and paranoia. While the cocoons I have started creating will hopefully capture how I have changed as a person and developed from the person I once was. I know how self obsessed this all sounds, but I think that is almost rational to bring everything back to my own personal experiences and draw from them.

Contextual work: Anish Kapoor

While discussing my work with a second year sculpture student, she recommended that I look up the artist Anish Kapoor. While his work is not directly related to the work that I am currently doing, it is still an inspiration of sorts. I have always been interested in large sculptural/instillation pieces and his work are definately an inspiration.

 Anish Kapoor "Bloodstick"
Currently, I am working a lot with textures and how they enclose an area and this piece has quickly become a huge inspiration to both what I can create and the scale of my work.

The colour here is also playing a role. To date, much of my work has been dark colours (mostly black and white) or when colour is used, it us normally washed out and pastel. This had got me thinking about colour in a different way and how I can effectively use it to my advantage.

Cocoon research

"The Top Secret is a light fixture made from shredded acetate. Besides the obvious play on waste/privacy, we think the lamp mimics a constructed animal nest or insect cocoon. Just like some animals build their nests out of left-behind findings, the shredded acetate lamp is also constructed of discarded fragments" (taken from source)

After I saw this image, it got me thinking of the different ways that I could construct my own cocoons and the various ways that I could display them. I found this idea of using them as lights to be very interesting. The use of materials also got me thinking about materials that I could experiment with, such as synthetic hair, shredded paper, crumbled chipboard and thin sheets of plastic.

Post blog review developments

After my blog review, my tutors suggested looking into cocoons as a confined space. This is an interesting idea as a cocoon is almost like an organic version of my confined space. Cocoons are symbolic of change and growth, because of these ideas, cocoons fit into the direction that my confined space concept is going.

(Internet sourced) 
Silk moth cocoon
Personally, I find cocoons unpleasant. The holes and texture make me feel nauseous, to say the least. They are both elegantly designed and hideous. Perhaps its linked to the belief that I have Trypophobia (ever wanted to violently vomit? Google it) .
It is this balance of beauty and ugliness that attracts me to this development.

This week, I am going to begin a study into cocoons, their deeper meaning in artistic context as well as creating my own.
I am going to keep my idea of recreating the sense of a large space in a confined space in my mind and work around this concept as I feel that it is a strong and mature premise.

Confined space development explained

My concept of creating the sense of an open space in a man made confined space has developed since building the prototype. I have decided on specific mesurements based on the information I learned fro the prototype.

After my blog review with my tutors, I have realised that I have not been clear on where I am going and most of my previous posts don't tie in together. I hope to create an instillation style piece as I feel like this method would display this piece effectively.

• Texture - I have been working and experimenting with texture as a method of making of making the inside of my confined space appear even smaller, almost claustrophobic, without reducing the physical size of the box. This is the primary reason that I have been working with various textures.
• Stop motion work - This was my starting thought of introducing a multimedia aspect into my project, this is what led me onto the sound practice of recording the sounds of rain and traffic. Even though the sounds weren't clear, it was a valuble experience as to how I could effectively record these sounds. 
• Contextual - The artists that I have been researching have influenced the materials I have been experimenting with, as well as the direction that I wish to take my work in. 
• Fabric -I choose to cover my prototype box in thin fabric/netting so people are able to see into the box, as well as being able to see through it. I feel like this material heightens the idea of people being present but seperated from those that surrounds them, a concept that many people feel throughout their lives.
• Wire - I started working with wire as part of my experiment into textures, but initially I felt that I could develop a few quick thoughts into interesting ideas, but I feel as if I strayed from my strongest idea and I have stopped most of my wire experiments to focus on developing my space concept. 

Through the production of this large scale box, I hope to play on peoples sense of space as well as a natural sense of paranoia through the use of one way glass, audio recordings and 'live sound', and fears of exclusion and separation.

I hope that I am able to achieve these very ambitious aims and do them justice.

Contextual work: Louise Bourgeois

The idea of using thin fabric to enclose my confined space box came from Louise Bourgeois' piece, "The Woven Child". After seeing this piece, I forced myself to question why she used thin, see through fabric. The answer was simple - so we could see exactly what was inside without any doubt. While the concepts behind Bourgeois piece, and what I hope to create are very different, she has inspired me to work with a similar fabric for the same reason that she used it - visibility.

(Chicken) wire experiment #2

As a side project this week, I have been experimenting with chicken wire. I have mostly been crushing and twisting it into tubes and attempting to work with it once it’s in this shape. I have attached around 9 meters together into a single 'tube' (I've cut it in meters and cut it into lengths of 3 each time). I then twisted it into a coil around my arm, and once removed and released, it curls. 

Using chicken wire on its own is a strange experience, it’s a harsh (and sharp!) material with a mind of its own per say. Once I released it off my arm, it assumed a shape that barely resembles that shape that I twisted it into. It is this reason that I am experimenting with it, it occupies space differently than many other materials that I have used to date. 

It has an almost organic flow to the way it falls that I find interesting. It reminds me of the roots of a mechanical/industrial tree or vines.  

 

Assignment from David

When we met with David in our studio a few weeks ago, he asked us to look at the photograph displayed in the ground floor corridor, (near the print studio) and create a piece through the medium of photography that was inspired by this image, and the old stairs themselves, taking the history of the building into account also.

As my photoshop skills leave a lot to be desired, I decided to stick with a basic image and do very little editing beyond basic internet image editors (fotoflexer).

  

 

I inverted the image and layered it over the original. This is a comment on how the purpose of the stairs and how people see it has changed, but its history is very much remembered. These ideas overlap, and personally I think this simple image captures it well.

Inside the confined space prototype

Today, I recorded myself looking out of the confined space/box. I was considering the various ways that I could record the experience of being in such a small, restrictive space and looking out at people. While this is just a rough video recorded on my phone, it did give me an idea of how it could be captured effectively on video.

Confined space prototype

Today I built a prototype for my confined space piece. I chose smaller measurements as this is only a practice run/first step for the larger piece. I closed the wooden frame in using thin translucent material. 

(Left: Incomplete prototype)

I asked my friend Laura to get into the prototype to see how it looked with someone inside, and how restricted she was once inside. Overall I am happy with the results of this practice as it gave me a general idea of future measurements.