Weaving Sample - Technical Block 3

Final Digital Print Designs

 

 

 

Technical Block - Print

Collection of digital prints original inspiration from Baby Born doll.

Large Black Ink - Drawing Workshop

Ed's Toy Collection

                            

Ed collects all pop culture and media related objects, for example a tweedy bird toy from the Warner Bros. cartoon. An important fact about the collection is it is all from the second half of the twentieth century (1952 – 2000) this being what he described as pretty much within his lifetime. This is a fairly modern collection but you could argue as time goes on the collection will become a form of escapism from modern day life.

(Jean Baudrillard,edited by John Elsner, Roger Cardinal, 1994) ‘the setting up of a collection itself displaces real time’

(Jean Baudrillard, edited by John Elsner, Roger Cardinal, 1994) ‘As Rheims observes, “a phenomenon often associated with the passion of collecting is the loss of all sense of the present”’

To Ed rarity is not important he only truly cares about the aesthetics and the era it comes from. You could argue that he has one relatively rare object within his collection which is the Simpson toy banned in America but this is not seen as rare in the collector’s eyes. Although Ed does seem to have one unique object within his collection being as it is not related to media or pop culture. Although you could argue the object belongs as it becomes the same because of the process of abstraction.

(Jean Baudrillard, edited by John Elsner, Roger Cardinal, 1994) ‘all objects in a collection become equivalent, thanks to the process of passionate abstraction we all call possession’

There is no treasured piece within his collection it is the whole collection together and displayed in one room which makes the collection fascinating. An important part about his collection is how it’s displayed and organized. In a room within his house with the objects organized into sections on shelves so you can see each individual object. His collection seems to have an aura of secrecy about it, being hidden away in a room within his house. Although his collection is on the web no one knows where he lives he still hidden away from the world.

(Jean Baudrillard, edited by John Elsner, Roger Cardinal, 1994) ‘they will maintain an aura of the clandestine, of confinement, secrecy and dissimulation, all of which give rise to the unmistakable impression of a guilty relationship’

 Bibliography

(The Cultures Of Collecting) (Jean Baudrillard) (edited by John Elsner, Roger Cardinal, 1994)

National Army Museum Task

Development of Uniform and Camouflage

My exhibition starts off from the initiation of the red coats and ends at modern day uniform and camouflage. The first record of the red coat is from 1520 but it is thanks to Oliver Cromwell who initiated the red coat as a uniform. This was because Cromwell thought without uniform you could not have a cohesive army with the uniform being the same color and design you could show your pride was to one side and one side only.

Britain began to find a use for camouflage when they were faced with modern European weapons in South Africa. This meant smokeless powder meaning soldiers needed to blend into the new battlefield environment. Previously a battlefield would have been full of smoke this meant it was important for a soldier to recognize a friend from foe.

 

Field office’s full dress coat, 27^th (or Inniskilling) Regiment Foot, c 1810

A full dress coatee was only worn at state functions, parades and in some regiments at balls. The ‘undress’ coatee was the opposite being worn in barracks, on service and in some regiments in the mess (eating and living). Some men also had working or ‘fatigue’ dress coatee. The wearers rank was indicated by the position of the loops and buttons. The red color only came about because of the availability and cheapness of the venice red dye used at the time. Although this could be seen as an advantage as the line of red coats looks intimidating but also made them a sitting target. Which is clearly shown in the drill demonstration model below. The earliest red coat recording is from 1520 but it is Oliver Cromwell who initiated the uniform. Cromwell thought without uniform you could not have a cohesive army therefore making them one color and design there pride was to one side.

Infantry Volunteers - drill demonstration model



Drummer’s Tunic and Epaulettes, c 1855

Uniforms were based on what was fashionable at the time which explains why in c 1855 the army’s old – fashioned coatee had been replaced by the tunic. Drummer’s tunics were typically more ornate than soldiers which in this example you can see it’s decorated with a lace bearing a blue fleur de lys motif. At this point there was no real need for camourflage in fact the stand out red color was useful. This is because until around the 1880’s the gunpowder that was used with the firearms produced a lot of smoke. Meaning a nineteenth century battlefield was covered in smoke. Therefore it was important for soldiers to be able to identify friend from enemy immediately.

Prince of Wale’s Own (West Yorkshire Regiment) other ranks khaki drill service dress uniform c 1910

Khaki was worn by certain units from c 1846 the dyes used didn’t last long it was not until 1884 a permanent mineral khaki dye originated by Frederick Albert Gatty.  At the beginning only troops on active service in Egypt, India and parts of Africa were allowed a khaki drill suit but in 1896 it was introduced for wear at all stations abroad. Leaving the redcoats for purely ceremonial reasons, this is still the case today as you can see in the photograph below of the royal wedding with the prince wearing the uniform of a Colonel of the Irish Guards.  Khaki was introduced because in South Africa the British Army was for the first time in opposition with modern European weapons. This meant smokeless powder meaning a lot less smoke on the battlefield. There was now a need for soldiers to blend in with environment thus camouflage is created.

The Wedding Of Prince William and Kate Middleton, 29th April 2011

Tank Suit Officer’s and Other Rank’s Track Suit, Universal Pattern, c 1944, Heavy cotton canvas

This protective garment was introduced in July 1943 for men serving in tank units. The suit included a detachable hood and strong shoulder straps that could be used to pull an individual out of the tank in an emergency. It was a popular item as it could be converted into a sleeping bag.  The sand colored over suit was also known as the ‘pixie suit’.

Ecstasy of Fumbling (Portrait of the Artist in a Gas alert) John Keane, 1991

This portrait depicts the artist himself wearing a Nuclear, Biological & Chemical suit during a gas alert whilst visiting a field hospital where everyone was ordered to put on NBC suits due to an Iraqi missile attack on a nearby town. The artist depicts himself scared with just his eyes staring out at the viewer from behind the respirator.Showing the human behind the camourflage and uniform.  

Tate Britain Pre-Raphaelites Exhibit and The Magdalenin Modern Times: The Mythology of the Fallen Woman in Pre-Raphaelite Painting, author Lynn Nead

I decided to start the research by reading The Magdalen in Modern Times: The Mythology of the Fallen Woman in Pre-Raphaelite Painting, author Lynn Nead.  The papers aim was to establish the way in which paintings and other forms of cultural representation participated in the definition of sexual behavior and ‘respectability’ during the nineteenth century. The paper starts with a background of nineteenth century society and what was thought to be normal?  Using the term “Victorian morality” you start to learn the certain rules inflicted upon men and women during Victorian England, such as the different gender roles in society. One of the best ways to describe the women’s role is the term “women’s mission” or domestic being. Women were seen to have three roles as a mother, a wife and daughter and that was the women’s aim in life. Her respectability was based on an appearance of carefully arranged neat hair and a modest dress.  A woman was to have no sexual desire whilst males sexual urge was seen to be active and spontaneous. To sum it up males were seen to be strong and women were seen to be weak. Using a repeated Victorian metaphor, he is the oak and she is the ivy describes the roles that were acceptable for a man and a women during the nineteenth century.  There seems to be two lives for a man during the nineteenth century, city and country life. City life was regarded as impersonal and just a place for a man’s work it was seen as a dangerous place with displaced people such as the homeless and prostitutes breeding ground whereas country life was the family home regarded as safe, permanent and ordered. Going on from city life the paper starts to discuss the falling women. The falling woman was seen in terms of lost innocence. The image of a falling woman became a subject of pity with the end of their life as suicide on the Thames being no other way out.

The Pre-Raphaelites exhibit at Tate Britain describes the Pre-Raphaelites as the Victorian Avant-Garde at its time overturning current orthodoxies in art and replacing them with new. The museum discusses the qualities of the paintings such as a more realistic figure specifically on facial features rather than the Italian beautified perfect figures. The paintings were more flattened with crisper features and bolder colors this is partly due to the new technology of photography meaning people were seeing the world differently.  The PRB made the subject of the falling women an acceptable subject in art rejecting the Italian tradition of history and religious paintings they applied these subjects to modern times one being by John Everett Millais painting ‘Christ In The House of His Parents’ who depicts Jesus in ordinary working people house with the figures depicting ordinary working people. In the exhibition there was no mention of the subject of the falling women brought up. In a way the museum uses the Italian Renaissance of beautifying some of the real subject matter giving the museum goer a more glamorous version of the era.  

Rough Guides Final Designs

 

Final designs for the rough guides book stuck to five graphic style designs adding color to some parts.



Rough Guides Research

 

Went back to Brick Lane area at the end of the day to collect more research. My eyes were drawn to the litter left out on the street mainly in corners where no one’s eyes would usually venture too. Litter had an intriguing quality as each piece tells a story about how a person is living. The litter gives a general overview of the people lives in the area.



Rough Guides Research

 



Came across a life drawing session at a cozy vintage café called Welcome to the Vintage Emporium Café on Bacon Street off Brick Lane.



Rough Guides Research

Images of research at Spitalfields Market in London. The different displays of visually intriguing objects draws you into another world.



Things ain't what they used to be

The lecture named ‘things ain’t what they used to be has given me an understanding of the term museology and collecting. Ed Ruscha’s oil on canvas painting titled The Los Angeles County Museum on Fire 1965-8, displays the loss of culture and history a museum enables us to have knowledge of.  Showing how important a museum is in securing art and culture.

 

The decision to evacuate the important contents of the National Gallery during WWII and keep it hidden away during the war years in a bunker at the Manod Quarry. Strikes the question how do you choose what the most important works of art are? Is it the value or how famous the artwork is? If you look at Damien Hirst’s artwork for example do people want to see money, the artwork or lastly just because its famous. Gillian Wearing’s video installation titled Western Security 1995 gives us the idea, why are some paintings worth more could it just be a question of the figure that makes the work of art important. Which leads you onto thinking is the museum and the art for the people or the instition.

Joseph Kosuth installation titled The Play of the Unmentionable 1990, Brooklyn Museum New York is a series of collected artwork that has upset people at some point. https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/exhibitions/819/The_Brooklyn_Museum_Collection:_The_Play_of_the_Unmentionable_(Joseph_Kosuth)

This leads onto the artwork of David Hamilton whose work got removed in the 90’s due to the pedofile epidemic. Just showing the enoumous power instutions have to remove history or choose what to show from history. This can lead you to think what remains hidden.

The Give and Take exhition at the V&A and Serpentine refused labels as they tell you what to think and guide you round.

Museums have evolved to have two menaing such as actually going to see the displays or to a coffee with friends and shopping. The General Idea Boutique and General Idea publiations from the 1984 Miss General Idea Pavilion take the idea of the museum as a money making machine with lots of people buying products to do with the displays.

 

Claes Oldenburgs artwork titled Mouse Museum makes you look at human lifestyle through mouses eyes. Leading you onto the idea what do you have to do to get in a museum, is our lives and the way we live a museum itself?

My Collection

Museum Visit Task - Wellcome Trust

I made a trip to the Wellcome Collection located near Euston to view the Super Human exhibition and the permanent exhibit Medicine Man. Overall the Superhuman exhibition gives you the chance to explore human enhancement from 600 BCE to 2050. The exhibit had a range of objects such as an article from the Evening News ‘Meet Louise, the world’s first test-tube arrival: Superbabe’ 1978 to a selection special prosthetic limbs for the young children affected thalidomide one of the worst medical disasters. The exhibition answers many questions as to what is human enhancement but also leaves you with many more questions. 

‘The Immortal’ created by Revital Cohen was the last object I viewed inside the exhibit. I was immediately drawn in to the enclosed space as the machinery is instantly recognizable too many people as life support equipment. Also the artwork was blocked off from any distraction from the exhibit being in its own entirely separate space. Revital Cohen acquired and connected up a Heart-Lung machine, a Dialysis Machine, an Infant Incubator, a Mechanical Ventilator and an intraoperative Cell Salvage Machine. These machines made questions swirl around in my mind such as the ethics, rules within the professional field of medicine as to how to use machines that mimic the body’s structure in an appropriate way. Lastly and possibly most importantly I wanted to know how scientists and doctors actually managed to get to a point where they could create a machine to mimic a human being.  The artist who created the installation was Revital Cohen described that she wanted to mimic the body’s structure meaning when you look at the installation you are effectively looking at a human being.

photograph by Revital Cohen

http://we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2012/05/the-immortal.php

After visiting the Wellcome Collection I thought it would be beneficial to visit the current exhibition at the Museum Of London – Doctors, Dissection and Resurrection Men. I felt the exhibition was split up into three categories; the controversial nineteenth century body-snatchers or resurrection men, the 1832 Anatomy Act and lastly the 2004 human tissue act. I felt the information the exhibition was vital to begin to understand Revital Cohen’s installation ‘The Immortal’. As it brought up the argument that the lifesaving operations and machinery in ‘The Immortal’ and modern world would not exist without resurrection men who endlessly studied human anatomy. The quote from Dr. Thomas Southwood-Smith, 1824 describes the feelings many doctors had about dissection ‘USE of the dead to the living’. On the other hand you could argue we may have got to the point we are today without the need of resurrection men but we will never know. The extract from the 1826 poem ‘Mary’s Ghost – A pathetic Ballad’ written by Thomas Hood tells of many of the public’s feeling towards resurrection men during the nineteenth century.

Mary’s Ghost – A pathetic Ballad

The body-snatchers, they have come

And made a snatch at me.

It’s very hard them kind of men

Won’t let a body be.

I can’t tell where my head is gone,

But Dr Carpue can;

As for my trunk, it’s all packed up

To go by Pickford’s van.

Don’t go to weep upon my grave

And think that there I’ll be;

They haven’t left me an atom there

Or my anatomy.

‘The bodies of the deceased patients of the hospitals of the metropolis are Bought and Sold like those of sheep and oxen’ Ann Millard, 1825 another quote describing the public’s anger toward body-snatching. The authorities did listen to the public and try and stop body-snatchers by creating Man-traps in the early nineteenth century although they were made illegal in 1827. Should the needs of medical science and the ‘greater good’ override individual consent.

Psychogeography

 

‘psychogeography is ‘the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals.’

Guy Debord (An introduction to a critique of urban geography, 1995).

Psychogeography is a new and intriguing concept to me as I have never thought of viewing the city and analyzing the way we use it.



The novel written by Daniel Defoe called A Journal of the Plague Year published in 1722 emerges you in the events plague epidemic of 1665 killing 100,000 people. This book explains a new concept of psychogeography in which you can map major events and disasters throughout history.

  ‘a person who walks the city in order to experience it’  

If I look back on my experience of traveling or more recently moving to London, I have never walked around the area aimlessly. I would be travelling for a reason such as to get to a certain destination this means I would not take in the environment I am travelling through. Looking back it’s actually sad that I have most likely missed out on a lot of knowledge of where I live and have been.

  “the crowd is his element, as the air is that of birds and water of fishes. His passion and profession are to become one flesh with the crowd. For the perfect flaneur, for the passionate spectator, it is an immense joy to set up house in the middle of the multude, amid the ebb and flow of movement , in the midst of the fugilve and the infinite’ (Baudelaire 9)

The ‘flaneur’ is another new word for me and the artwork of Barbara Kruger below gives a general explantion for the text above.

He was able to stroll at leisure not a pace dictated by a crowd; one might even go to the extreme of allowing a pet turtle to set the pace, observing the people, the building facades, the objects for sale…

According to Simmel-The modern city was transforming humans, giving them a new relationship to time and space inculcating in them a “a blasé attitude”, and altering fundamental notions of freedom and being.

Basically saying the modern world can trap you if you are not careful. Brings me onto the artwork Sous les Paves La Plage which translates to beneath the sidewalk you find the beach. Literally saying you can only find freedom outside society.

You can overturn this way of thinking and take over the streets.