Yvonne Carmichael's Second Visit

Following on from a talk given to us on ‘Art In Unusual Spaces’ Yvonne Carmichael; the programmer for the scheme came in to present another lecture. Although this time she spoke more on the artists and art work she likes and dislikes and her own individual interests.

She spoke briefly over quite a few points and her personal opinions on exhibitions she has seen, such as ‘The British art show’ and ‘The Venice Biennial’; which she stated were both a little basic and that nothing much really interested her....saying that the shows were ‘content less’ in importance as to making you get anything from the work to make you think. The intention of what she meant was soon corrected once she was questioned, as she didn’t mean it to sound so offensive to the artist’s objectives. She added that there was nothing much to the shows in her opinion as they seemed too commercially lead; with no actual link between each of the works exhibited.

Yvonne also mentioned an artist named ‘Raphaëlle de Groot’, and a group called ‘01100.org’, who’s projects and intentions behind their works was said to have had an effect on the way she thinks about art in general as she agrees for the most part into their ideas.

Raphaëlle de Groot has engaged herself in work that cannot be described through the artistic mediums she employs. Her practice is similar to investigative procedures and to research and experimentation methods through the artistic mediums she employs, such as drawing, performance, video, installation, edition or curatorial undertakings. Her attention to details to what seems unimportant is one of the main keys to understanding her approach. Her work develops through projects or strategies involving the artist alone or with others, as some projects are conceived for groups of persons with a shared experience. She voluntarily refrains from assigning goals to these strategies (drawing blindfolded, painting while constraints severely restrict her movements or obeying someone else’s instructions), which she uses to experiment with a situation. Whether acting alone or with others, she remains decidedly committed to the process at work and constantly strives to safeguard the utmost sensitivity to what her devices bring about and, above all, to what she does not expect.

I became instantly intrigued from the selection of images of ‘Raphaëlle’s’ works, that Yvonne spoke about in her presentation and so I looked the artist up myself and came across a selection of her works titled ‘Microcosme (2000)’; were she cut out every Chicoutimi resident listing from the 1999-2000 edition of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean regional phone book and re-ordered them by street name and address. She then read the names out, following a route one might take on foot through the city. The reading was played back in the exhibition space, where the list of residents was tacked to the wall in the form of small strips alphabetically ordered according to the street names. She also strolled through parts of the city, list in hand, and stopped in front of each building to read the resident’s name and address aloud. This, too, was recorded, along with a description of the house facade.

Without the reasoning behind the doings of this piece, I immediately fell in love with the work. For me, the work itself isn’t what has caught my attention, its how the piece looks as a whole, especially from a distance. The simplicity of the line, order and colour usage reminds me of the installation work I am putting together at the minute; even more so with the addition of text. And so is a relevant artist to look into for that reason alone. For me her work is very influential.

Yvonne also keenly spoke about Wochenklauser, Artwayofthinking, ciudad multiple city festival and some of the artworks in the last two Manisfestas; www.wochenklausur.at/, www.artway.info/, http://manifesta.org/. I found each of these websites really interesting although the work alone didn’t appeal to me as much as others.

Assessment Point Two (Practice and Publication)

I am feeling positive after my Assessment with Peter this morning, although I was disappointed to hear that Miguel wasn't able to attend as I enjoy hearing the different opinions and responses to my ideas alongside those from the students in the group. Although Peter mentioned that he will discuss our more recent proposals with Miguel and his input will be still contributed to our marking; as he is aware of what the majority of us are doing. In the Assessment I read to the group the notes I put together the day before which included all of my recent progress and ideas; I did this purposely so that I wouldn't forget to explain any part of my ongoing and still developing project alongside the information on the upcoming exhibition. This worked well for me as I felt more confident talking about the work and my ideas, Peter also stated that he was very pleased that I had gone into detail explaining all aspects of my work and that he was very glad that I have thought and planned everything ahead so that I am aware of each step I will be taking and things I will be doing before the 26th April.

I also decided upon putting up a small number of my many text strips in a small area of the room were our Assessments took place. I did this as I felt I needed to show something whilst talking about my recently added idea of using spot lights along the pathway of my installation as a way of incorporating light in a minimal way into the room. However because of the many windows, the room was naturally light and so the effects of the light shining up the strips couldn't be seen but my proposal seemed clear as I explained how it would look which seemed good enough at that point.

Assessment Preperation

I decided upon writing a script like formation of notes to read during my assessment to prevent me from forgetting to explain any information on the exhibition or about my recent ideas and plans, reading:

'I spoke to Miguel yesterday as I wanted a space to set up an insight into my installation piece ready for this mornings assessment; although he told me not to do this as he and the majority are aware of what I propose to put together for the exhibition, and so is unnecessary waisted time. And so I will explain my proposal.
On a more recent visit to the room that I am exhibiting my piece, the space is much larger than I originally thought and so I decided on producing 500 more of my paper strips, totalling to 2000; which I have cut up and bagged ready to put up for the exhibition. Making sure that the room is filled without too much space between each set up; excluding the pathway which will lead the viewer through the piece.

My intention is to only allow one person at a time into the room and space as I want to avoid the temptation of any discussion, with only their own individual thoughts and opinions of the piece to think about, and no distraction from the sound which will be playing throughout the room. The sound recordings of myself and my doings that I edited together using the Audacity programme, have now been transferred onto an Mp3 hard drive and onto a disc, as I am still unsure as to which media I am going to use. However the chosen device will not be seen either way; it depends on which sounds better overall.

To restrict the light entering the room from the small windows and the light fittings in the ceiling, I will be covering these securely using white card board, measured to fit to remain disguised within the room. I am doing this purposely as I want the room to remain quite dark although light enough for the writing and imagery on the strips to be read and for the viewer to see the pathway clearly. Therefore I have bought ten spot lights which will be placed amongst the pile of paper strips on the floor of the pathway so that the light will shine upwards, lighting up the work; creating a reflection and shadowing amongst the installation.

I am in a group of nine people, with work that varies from installation, sound and video, performance and wall art, all along the theme of 'Self Reflection'; giving a subject focus area for the show. We are holding the exhibition at the Student Union on the 26th and 27th April. Although we are able to have use the space for two days prior to prepare for the show and put together our works. We will mainly be using the large conference rooms on the upstairs of the building which are originally used for areas of meeting. However because the space and walls are very minimal, it's ideal for the most of our individual works; although other areas of the building will be used to prevent the other works, either using the walls or selected spaces.

We have our advertisement posters and leaflets designed which will be distributed across the university, throughout the Student Union on the outside and in and on the Student Union radio station. We will also be sending invites through facebook and individually to friends and family; hoping to attract a mixed audience. This will be done on the Monday on returning back to university after the two week break; anytime before seemed a little too soon, dragging on the wait to the exhibition.'

Plan of Action

We decided on a group meeting today to arrange the last few plans and ideas for the upcoming exhibition; the plans are as followed:
- All advertising posters etc must be complete and ready to be distributed by Monday the 18th April (the first Monday back after Easter) giving us a week of having them up; and so we will all meet on the Monday morning to put them up around the university and The Student Union...etc.

- We've come up with the idea that everyone should do miniatures of their work, eg. postcards, mini models...etc with the intention to sell them or give them away on the opening night. Giving that addition to the exhibition to make it a little different, with the added bonus of getting our name and work out there.

- Also we think everyone should make a cake or buns or something to have available to the visitors at the opening night of the exhibition to maybe ask for donations for.

- And everyone needs to prepare a title and blurb about their work that we plan to print on to foam board and put up next to our pieces.

April the 26th is our opening night and the previous weekend is easter weekend meaning that were gonna have to start setting up on Thursday the 21st.

Final Draft

As a group we settled on the more colourful, eye catching design for the exhibition advertisement poster which I think represents and expresses the theme of the work and the venue ideally; also having 'Fine Art' characteristics, it represents us as a group overall. Although I still would have preferred the title of the exhibition to have been 'Self Reflection'....in my opinion, it represents the theme of each of our works more obviously and to be fair sounds less 'ponsey'.

We will be printing a number of these out to an A3 size on high quality paper to appear more professional; also giving us more of a positive outlook on our group collaboration and raising expectations for the show. These will be placed throughout the university and the student union and maybe in the city centre; introducing the 'non art' community to an art exhibition which would hopefully create mixed responses to the work and the ideas behind each individual piece, other than just students and people involved in the art industry. We will also be printing a number of these in a leaflet format to hand out to the public; hoping to get as many people as possible to visit the upcoming exhibition and view the collection of works put together. I also suggested to the group to approach Andy (a member of the technician group at the university) to upload our advertisement onto the TV’s which are situated on each floor of the university; hoping to attract more attention to the upcoming show. The exhibition can also be advertised on the Student Union radio station.

Yvonne Carmichael

Art In Unusual Spaces

Yvonne is currently the programmer for Art in Unusual Spaces; a scheme which is a partnership between independent curators, landlords, artists and businesses throughout the city who in most cases use units across the city as they become temporarily vacant, to exhibit art works. The project is ongoing and was initiated in partnership with Leeds City Council in December 2009, and since then Art in Unusual Spaces has been constituted an independent Community Interest Company.

The talk/ lecture presented to us by Yvonne Carmichael was definitely a motivating and interesting experience which made me think so much further into the spaces that are available to individual artists and groups to hold exhibitions and events throughout cities. I usually automatically think of presenting my work in an 'arty' environment but I found after hearing of the success of past exhibitions she has held, has made 'unusual spaces', i.e. shopping centers, stores, offices, hotels...etc, sound much more interesting. I suppose, taking the work out of a typical gallery space and placing it into a shopping centre makes the work seen in an everyday environment, instead of visiting a space purposely for that reason; giving the ‘non’ arty community the opportunity to witness the work without any original intention. The space the work is shown with the different incorporation of a range of people would also create a more varied outlook on the art and what the artist themselves are aiming to achieve; maybe questioning the work with the environment it’s in, in mind. I find this whole prospect and idea really interesting and something I am definitely looking forward to experimenting further along the line of my studies. Although I get the feeling that peoples opinions may vary from some finding it certainly positive and unique to others questioning the concept of it being ‘un-professional’ because of the environment the work is shown.....however these mixed responses would be unquestionably interesting.

Extra Cutting

Because the room I am exhibiting my installation is larger than I remembered from the first visit, I decided upon making another 500 copies of my A4 sheets of handwritten text to cut into strips and fill the space of the room...totalling to 1700. This is adding much more expense and time on my final piece but not having enough of the strips would have definitely taken away from the end product; effecting the response from the viewer I hope to achieve.

Individual Tutorial

The discussion with Miguel began with a briefing over the 'Personal Planning Development questionnaire' which I completed prior to my tutorial.  I believe I answered each of the questions confidently and with no particular problems with the development of my work at this point, we went straight on to  talking through my progress and plans towards the upcoming exhibition.  

I explained my intentions for how I want the piece to be seen by the viewer in the exhibition; making it clear that it is important for the work to be viewed 'one at a time' , as I want to avoid the distraction of another person sharing opinions from the viewers own individual thoughts. I suppose it will give them more of a chance to listen to the sound piece playing around the room, reading the information and taking in a sense of intimacy and emotion which I hope to achieve from the piece; without the temptation of talking to another person or witnessing their reaction. Miguel agreed with my points and stated that he was very happy that I have thought about this aspect of my work as I have made it clear that I am very aware of what I want and how the work is intended to be seen; adding that it relates to the overall context of the work...the control of the subject matter and the control of the communication of the piece it self.  

As the discussion continued we went on to questioning how I would ensure that it is made clear to the viewers that it is intended for one to enter at a time. I do believe it will take something away from the piece if this doesn't happen and I don't particularly think signs stating this would take any action and so throughout the two day exhibition I will make sure I myself or another member of the group is situated near the room at all times to certify this to the viewer.  

Miguel related my work and intentions to two major artist exhibitions at the Tate Modern whos works I found fascinating, including 'Miroslaw Balka, with the Unilever Series' and 'Ai WeiWei, with Sunflower Seeds'. These were both exhibited in the Turbine Hall and an example of signs not taking note.

The latest commission in The Unilever Series How It Is by Polish artist Miroslaw Balka is a giant grey steel structure with a vast dark chamber, which in construction reflects the surrounding architecture - almost as if the interior space of the Turbine Hall has been turned inside out. Hovering somewhere between sculpture and architecture, on 2 metre stilts, it stands 13 metres high and 30 metres long. Visitors can walk underneath it, listening to the echoing sound of footsteps on steel, or enter via a ramp into a pitch black interior, creating a sense of unease.

Underlying this chamber is a number of allusions to recent Polish history – the ramp at the entrance to the Ghetto in Warsaw, or the trucks which took Jews away to the camps of Treblinka or Auschwitz, for example. By entering the dark space, visitors place considerable trust in the organisation, something that could also be seen in relation to the recent risks often taken by immigrants travelling. Balka intends to provide an experience for visitors which is both personal and collective, creating a range of sensory and emotional experiences through sound, contrasting light and shade, individual experience and awareness of others, perhaps provoking feelings of apprehension, excitement or intrigue.

Miguel mentioned that on witnessing this piece for himself, his experience was ruined by other viewers not taking note of the sign which was purposley situated near the entrance of the piece; reading that no photographs were to be taken and to remain as quiet as possible. With people taking photographs and communicating throughout, the intamacy and unknown aspects of the piece where instantly taken away due to the flash of the camera lighting up the 'dark room' and the discussions effecting individual thoughts and opinions.

            

Sunflower Seeds is made up of millions of small works, each apparently identical, but actually unique. However realistic they may seem, these life-sized sunflower seed husks are in fact intricately hand-crafted in porcelain.
Each seed has been individually sculpted and painted by specialists working in small-scale workshops in the Chinese city of Jingdezhen. Far from being industrially produced, they are the effort of hundreds of skilled hands. Poured into the interior of the Turbine Hall’s vast industrial space, the 100 million seeds form a seemingly infinite landscape.
Porcelain is almost synonymous with China and, to make this work, Ai Weiwei has manipulated traditional methods of crafting what has historically been one of China’s most prized exports. Sunflower Seeds invites us to look more closely at the ‘Made in China’ phenomenon and the geo-politics of cultural and economic exchange today.

The landscape of sunflower seeds can be looked upon from the Turbine Hall bridge, or viewed at close-range in the east end of the Turbine Hall on Level 1. It is no longer possible to walk on the surface of the work, but visitors can walk close to the edges of the sunflower seed landscape on the west and north sides.

Although porcelain is very robust, we have been advised that the interaction of visitors with the sculpture can cause dust which could be damaging to health following repeated inhalation over a long period of time. In consequence, Tate, in consultation with the artist, has decided not to allow members of the public to walk across the sculpture.

Sunflower Seeds is a total work made up of millions of individual pieces which together from a single unique surface. In order to maintain and preserve the landscape as a whole, Tate asks visitors not to touch or remove the sunflower seeds.

Personal Development Planning Questionnaire

Relevant Questions

Describe a piece of architecture, art, design or music that has caught your attention recently and why?

-  I have recently come across an installation piece called ‘Bed’ by Antony Gormley. It caught my attention at the Tate Gallery first of all because of its size and positioning in the room but on approaching the piece; I found it fascinating yet quite bizarre to find the work was made out of bread as it wasn’t expected from a distance. After reading the information on the piece, I became more intrigued to the connotation of the bread’s usage and the explanation behind the work. I also found that it linked in well with the representation of the work I am creating at the minute. 

Give a favourite example of each of the following that you've seen/read recently...

Book/ Journal: - ‘Malice. Danielle Steel’

Film/ DVD/ Video/ TV: - TV Documentary: Antony Gormley ‘Making Spaces’

Exhibition: - Nam June Paik

Other/ Outside Interests: - Dance

Have you sighed up for any of the School Skill Sets: - Yes, recently. The Audacity Workshop

What skills and attributes have you developed since your last review?

- Since my last review I have been introduced to the ‘Audacity Software’ by Peter Appleton. I found this programme exceptionally interesting and was quick to learn the process of the programme and the purpose and use of the majority of the tools. I would say that this has definitely helped with the development of my work; having a positive impact on my recent piece alongside my practice as a whole as the software could be re-introduced in other works now that I am aware of how to use it.

Is there anything specific you'd like to discuss during your review?

- No, nothing in particular. I am quite happy with the development of my work at the minute. Although I am a little unsure about which module’s which for an upcoming assessment, which I’m sure can be over looked in my review.  

Give some details about all of your most recent projects. It's expected that some work may be still be 'in progress'.

Project title: Fine Art Practice

Identify aspects of this project that you're pleased with...

- I am happy with my overall development for this project so far. My sound piece is complete, which I am more than pleased with and the cutting process of my strips of text for the piece I intend to exhibit is still in process, although my plans and visions for what I aim to achieve is definitely positive.

Identify aspects of this project that you could improve...
- I could improve the technology my sound piece is played on; as I am having difficulty with transferring my media onto the correct sort of ‘player’, as I am a little unsure of what to use or how to even do it. At the minute I am looking into purchasing a small CD player especially for the exhibition as I don’t want the piece to be seen by the viewer.

Project title: - Fine Art Practice and Publication

Identify aspects of this project that you're pleased with...
- I am pleased with how I have managed to adapt to group work as I have always preferred working individually, although I can’t say it hasn’t been difficult to work around different opinions. I also feel that I am relating my work, ideas and progress appropriately and sufficiently on my on-line blog.

Identify aspects of this project that you could improve...
- I suppose the communication and organisation between the group could be improved. We have a group facebook page in which we all post information, ideas, images, conversations and anything else related to our individual works or the exhibition; as a way of keeping in touch and updating one another whilst showing our development.  Although a few of the group members don’t seem to be getting involved with the planning and decision making or attending meetings, which is disappointing.

Project title: Contemporary Art and Globalisation
Identify aspects of this project that you're pleased with...
- I have found that this module is definitely essential to the development of my work, making a break from the creative side of this course to write, which has become an important part of my studies; alongside looking at art in a broader aspect instead of just works that I’m particularly fond of or that relate to my own works. I have also enjoyed and benefited from reading around the topic of Globalisation which I am finding surprisingly interesting.

Identify aspects of this project that you could improve...

- If I’m honest, I am finding difficulty in the writing process of putting my essay together. I feel like I have a lot to say around the main lecture series I decided to write about, ‘Exhibitions and artists’; and being quite a broad subject,  it seems that a 2000 word limit isn’t quite enough. I have the information and the points I want to include, it’s just the structuring of the essay together correctly that I admit to finding hard this semester.

Are you attending Lectures organised by relevant external organisations? Which was the most interesting and why?

-  I have attended all of the lectures and talks so far, given to us by various artists and graduate students from all over. I was especially interested in the talk given to us by James Iveson, as I found the way he spoke about art in general enjoyable alone; I also found his work and ideas quite out of the ordinary, focusing on strange objects, such as, Underpants.

Do you take an active role in any Student Society? How?

-  I wouldn’t say I have any role in any Student Society in particular, although I have been working with a group of first year students, along with two members of the Royal Standard and Rick Creed on a module leading up to a group exhibition held at the Royal Standard organisation. I can’t say I’ve had a particular role in the module but sitting in with the group meetings and discussing work plans and the student’s ideas is definitely interesting and has made me think further into the development of my own work.

How have you started to engage with stage 2 of the World of Work: Organisational Awareness?
- I have recently started the second stage of the World of Work; making notes for each of the questions listed. Although I havn’t yet answered the questions in depth as I plan to get my essay and dissertation proposal finished first.

Wednesday 9th March

After the presentation given to us this morning by post-graduate students, a few of us from our exhibition group decided to quickly visit the Student Union again to view the building and the spaces in which we will be working in. Although the room I will be exhibiting my installation is much bigger than I initially thought and so I will be producing more of my text strips as I don't believe the amount I have at this point is quite enough to fill the space of the whole room.

Amy MacDonough & Blu Firth

The presentation given to us by Amy MacDonough & Blue Firth was definitely interesting to say the least. Starting with their own individual works; which were quite similar in subject matter and relation but completely different in art form and result. From the examples of work shown to us, Amy MacDonough is a performance artist; mostly video based, with the varied incorporation of her acting, singing, directing and editing in the films....Showing many skills. The video practice captures found footage, stories (interoperated in different ways) and the collective memories from her childhood in the 1980's; which for viewing, may be more familiar to some than others. For me, most of the stories were unfamiliar as I was born in the 1990's. I cant say that I particularly found her video pieces interesting, (well, they are interesting but not something I would choose to explore into further)  but I love the context behind the work and how it relates to herself and her close family. I especially enjoyed listening to her explain the work and her reasons behind doing it; it always gives me pleasure to hear someone talk passionately about their studies and been a developing student its interesting to hear how they have proudly got to were they are now. I was mostly interested in the sound incorporated into a number of the films, specifically in 'Race Memories: Prologue' were she sings a nursery rhyme from her childhood beautifully throughout alongside the black and white film footage. Exploring video in different ways, the sincere sound linked well with the acted out scenes of memories and found footage....although in this piece, I wasn't aware of the story behind it, but for some reason didn't seem necessary.

Blu Firth, as I am aware, is an installation/ sculptural artist; working mostly site specifically, outside of the gallery space. She stated that she had unknown views on what an artist was and didn’t particularly want a career in art, but was mostly interested in design, graphics especially; which I picked up on in a selection of her works. Although I can't say that I've kept in mind a piece of her work specifically, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the for most of them but to me there didn't seem to be much of an explanation to what I was seeing. However I found her interests behind the work quite intriguing, especially towards history and her love for Goth, horror, medieval and especially the 'Stone Henge' which she referred back to a number of times.

Continuing my studies onto a Post-graduate course is something I have been thinking of doing after my degree for a long time now, and after hearing graduate students from the Royal Academy Schools in London talk about their exeriences and achievements, it has definitely made me consider further. I especially like the sound of the course they attended in London; which I will most definitely be looking further into.

Exhibition Poster Idea 2

To the left is another proposal idea for the exhibition poster, I like both of these for different reasons although I believe the previous black and white example works much better as it stands alone looking more proffessional and represents our upcoming show much stronger.

As a group, we are in the process of deciding on which proposal to use, although we each have different opinions and with nine of us in the group, I don't think the final choice will be completely agreed on. The winning example will be mass produced next week and set up around Liverpool to advertise our exhibition.

Monday 7th March

This afternoon I visited the Student Union, hoping to get hold of Jess Green; on speaking to her, she explained that she has in fact been off work for a few weeks ill and has only today checked her e-mails. Therefore she hasn't intentionally ignored us, and apologised a number of times for keeping us waiting. I'm a little relieved to say the least as it has been quite worrying wondering what is actually going on for the show. But a group meeting at The Student Union, was suggested for Thursday to take another look around the space in which we are exhibiting and to discuss the rremaining plans and Ideas for the show.

The cutting of my text strips is still continuing, although I now think I have enough to fill the room which I will be using in the exhibition.

Exhibition Poster Idea

After a little inspiration and playing around with different layouts and fonts; to the left is the developed exhibition poster which is almost complete. Although the image in the background looks great, we are going to experiment with other images of the groups individual works to see which works best as a whole; the font and layout will remain the same.

We also had the idea of creating a variation of posters with a different image of all of our works in each one the background; keeping the information and text the same so that it's understood to the public that it is the same show.

Thursday 3rd March

I cant say I wasn't disappointed to find only three members of our group had turned up at the meeting today, alongside no other design Ideas for the advertisement leaflets; as I just want to get everything set up and sorted. It's beginning to become clear that many of the group members are not particularly bothered about the exhibition and the planning towards it been a success which is quite frustrating as I and a few others have been really looking forward to the show; which I think definitely has potential.

And so again, nothing much was discussed, although we decided on having the exhibition title as 'Self- Reflection' as a one word name, instead of 'Art & Self- Reflection', I personally think the word 'Art' in front works much better; giving more of an insight into the show being an art exhibition reflecting Self awareness, but more agreed towards Self Reflection standing alone as it was said to appear more 'arty' as a one word title...to be fair, I am happy either way as I think they both work well. We also discussed my proposal for the poster and leaflet design, and after the addition of different opinions and points of view on the matter, we agreed that there was a little too much going on and didn't particularly look artistic as it was a little too neat. Although we agreed that it should be black and white. For a little inspiration, we browsed on line at examples of exhibition advertisements and came across one in which we have decided to use as a base idea. It’s simple in design, layout and colour but seems to work perfectly...and quite professional looking.

Art & Self Reflection

Before the group meeting planned for this afternoon, I put together a design idea for the poster and leaflets to advertise the exhibition using Microsoft Publisher, ready to show the group. As I am aware a few of the other members of the group are going to design a template also and so our different Ideas can be altered to suit everyones opinions. Alongside the layout of the poster, with text and imagery, I would say that colour is a main aspect of the design as it is that which captures the attention of the viewer. I originally wanted to use bright colors combined with scuttle

shades but I found that it looked a little tacky and childlike and so I selected shades which I think catches the attention without doing that....these can easily be changed. However I also like the idea of the poster been much simpler, and so I transferred the design to black and white which I found works really well, looking a little more professional. I am not to sure which one I prefer, but I’m sure the group discussion and the addition of their mixed opinions will help us decide upon something.

Routes Into Teaching

The presentation given to us today on the routes into teaching most definitely gave me a better insight and understanding of the various routes into a teaching profession. I wasn’t actually aware of the whole process of beginning and applying for one of the many different courses which are available before the start of a career; and although I am glad that I am now more familiar after the information given, I would have to say the thought of the development is quite daunting. I personally am aiming towards teaching students from secondary school and higher education, preferably college level. Although I love been around children and teaching in that environment, I much prefer the thought of teaching older students that also want a career in art; who I can form a relationship with, helping and advising them individually to achieve what they aim for in life.

There are many courses for different sectors of teaching jobs, which is a little confusing. As I am aware I would apply for the ‘PGCE’ Programme, although I would research into this further before doing so. After the brief explanation, I have come to realise that there is a lot to endure before becoming a qualified teacher; as stated, alongside many other factors, the most important aspect of the application process is relevant work experience. I have worked in many different environments in the past, mostly part time whilst studying and also a little experience in volunteer work; although none of these had a teaching or artistic role. On knowing this I am definitely going to get myself started on some form of teaching experience; and with the useful links and contacts given to us by the programme leader, hopefully the route will be much easier and faster enabling me to start a position ready for the summer.

James Iveson

I found this morning’s lecture by the artist James Iveson really interesting. He was enjoyable to listen to as he explained his work and the transition from being a student to a professional artist. He spoke a lot about the importance of a studio space and how it was vital for him to have a studio space in order to develop his practice. This made me think a lot more about how I will continue my practice after graduating and whether or not a space would be important to the development of my own work; at this point in my studies, I am not to sure. Although the idea has become much clearer after James explained a little into the process and from the information given to us; I definitely intend to look into this further.

He also mentioned that he tries to gain relationships with as many different people in the art environment as he can; from art suppliers to other artists. This is a good point for so many reasons which I also agree with and know I should do more of to begin the process of getting my name and work out there in the competitive field, although I believe this blog and my upcoming exhibition is a good starting point.

‘Read Boats’ was a painting he referred back to a number of times, which he arrived at by the traditional observation of everyday objects, such as underpants and other garments. He said that he thought it was quite strange introducing a pair of pants into his art but liked the fact that it was an object that couldn’t be changed...it is what it is, whilst still giving the qualities that he wanted to extract from a portrait. He described the colour usage of these series of paintings as ‘provocative’, explaining that his limited use of colour was because he thought using a palette with a range of paints would give him too much freedom to change the colours in the object itself.

It was interesting to hear that a selection of his smaller works were produced from large observational  paintings that he decided didn't work as a whole He said that he selected sections of the painting he liked the most, cutting the piece into smaller individual paintings and reframing, focusing more on the detail; adding that he wanted his paintings to have the same qualities of the garment itself.

He ended the lecture on quite an amusing note, stating that just because you surround yourself with art materials and work in a studio doesn’t particularly make you a good artist. I agree but then again, if you’re passionate about art, whether as a practice or as a hobby, if you love what you do, then maybe that’s enough to make you a good artist?

The Tate again

On my second recent visit to The Tate, I focused mainly on the collection of works shown in the gallery other than the main show of 'Nam June Paik'. I have also seen the majority of these pieces exhibited a number of times, although I spent much more time reflecting on a collection of the works and how they related to my own.

Antony Gormley's 'Bed, 1980-81', I was drawn to on entering the room. I found this piece fascinating, not only by its appearence but from reading the information explaining the work.
Gormley describes sculpture as 'a visual means to refer to things which cannot be seen'. He frequently employs casts of his own body as a vehicle for investigating mans physical and spiritual relationship to the world around him. In 'Bed' he uses the space left by his consumption of his body mass in slices of bread to represent 'the infinity of space within the body'. The work is also a metaphor for the Catholic ritual of consuming the body and spirit of Christ, symbolised by bread, through the taking of the sacriment.

I related this piece to my own, simply because he is using and exploring the body's physical form to create a relationship; using photography and my own words, my intentions are similar, but with a completely different outcome. 

Gillian Wearing 'Sign's, 1992-93', suprised me instantly as on previously witnessing these works on line I originally thought the prints of this series would be much smaller than shown. The quality of these images were also much clearer than I assumed (seen as they were taken in the 1990's), wether these have been edited I don't know but they deffinately worked well as a whole. 
Wearing's series of 'Signs' shows the range of responses from passers-by she stopped at random in the street and asked to scribble down their thoughts. With there permission she then photographed them holding their statement. As indicated by the title, Wearing emphasises that this collaberation with the public departs from the usual technique of photo journalism with 'the subjects' clear collusion and engineering of their own representation'. In documenting, framing and then exhibiting these responses, Wearing draws attention to the disparity between public image and private person. 

Very different to Antony's piece, I related 'Signs' to my own because of her use of incorporating the public into the work. Doing this by appraching people at random, I wanted the public to incorporate themselfs into my piece; unconsiously getting an insight into my life.