Shirley Manson presents herself covered in lace and latex on the front of V magazine, an inspiration to many female artists.
Quote: It's a look that is retro, evocative, and slightly dangerous. Shirley took style cues from her mother when growing up and would borrow things from her closet. "She had lots of stuff from the '60s, so i was rocking a pretty cool wardrobe, but only by default"
Taken for Vogue, Emma Summerton has a beautiful, dark approach to her models. More a Gothic look than glamour, its a refreshing change from the florals and pastels.
I've chosen this piece because i want to look into natural forms, Anya Gallaccio studies the idea of beauty around decay, life and death. I want to look into decay and natural forms over time, first presented in the WhiteChapel Gallery in 2003 with 600 rare Gerberas pressed between two panes of glass, over time these vivid beautiful flowers began to wither and decay continuously changing colours along the way, leaving them with a layer of grey mould. Preserve 'Beauty' is a perfect place for me to start my project.
I want to focus on the methods and processes used when work is created through natural forms, i wan to experiment and analyse ways in which I can link/evolve this idea and enhance it so it links perfectly into my project in Fashion through Textile Design I need to explore all these things that Gallaccio shows in her work working through photography, textures, colouring/discolouring - enhancing my knowledge of experimental techniques throughout the project.
Here's a link to a short video which was produced in 2003 showing the stages in which they went through to produce this piece - http://vimeo.com/7702993
Study and look into the differences between Grayson Perry’s work as a fine artist using craft processes and coming from a craft background in relation to the craftspeople/designers showing at the Power of Making.
As a fine Artist Grayson Perry had his own individual take on his work and what he saw as art, fine art. He respected the artist, he talks of 'paying tribute' to the original artists' and creating an almost shrine like exhibition in The British Museum for all these objects that were once made by artists that are now unknown to us. Grayson Perry has worked behind the scones of the British Museum for two years, over 100 of the objects that are in the exhibition have been stored away and almost forgotten behind the scenes.
Compared to the Power of Making Exhibition which has been held at the V&A, i feel like this holds more of single purpose, its set out so that the designer is recognised and the object is individual. The artist has recognition for their object, so each piece is seen as an individual when put along side next to the other artists piece, whereas i feel Grayson Perry has set out to make the Exhibition a family of work (a body of work)
A craftsman is someone who uses their hands, anyone can design its the thought process and meaning behind the idea which makes it a design/fine art piece of work. 'Too many people never get a chance to experience the highest levels of making. Most can make something, at least at an amateur level, and many reach a professional standard. But there are many layers of expertise beyond that. It may take years to attain complete mastery.' The ideas we hold inside our head and putting them through into a physical object with understanding and meaning for the audience plays the main role in both these exhibitions and i believe this is their link. A number of techniques and skills are used to create these pieces, machinery and techniques can date back or can be brand new, the great thing about exhibitions like this is you cant tell what your going to see you could never predict what's going to be round the next corner whether it be the life-size crochet bear in the Power of Making Exhibition or the Hello Kitty pilgrim hand-towel in the Grayson Perry Exhibition.
I believe that Grayson Perry's work reflects on the British Museum itself perfectly as it pieces shown have a history to them, they date back hundreds of years so old crafts are shown more so than the V&A'S Exhibtion which i feel shows mainly new crafts, each reflect perfectly on their set museums but if they were put together i don't think it would work, i think the work would look muddled and cluttered. Grayson Perry's exhibition ha a clear taste of history through his objects which hold no artists whereas the Power of Making are newer crafts by current named artists.
I studied my foundation at Chelsea so when it came round to the start of BA and they asked us if we could present ourselves in a blog form i was more than prepared for it. Personally i quite enjoy taking time out to write in my blog, its nice to see my work in a layout such as my blog, i can then choose how i want to present it and put across my ideas and opinions to go with it. Although i don't blog as much as i should i hope i'll fall into the habit of it. I started off my blog by talking about my rotations, i hope to continue with visits/talks/outings and other research based work that helps me create a blog portfolio of my work and the outcomes of my research and talks.
I've linked my blog to my flickr account which i thought was a good idea for when it came to pictures of my work, i don't like how the pictures presents themselves under one anothe on the posts and make it really lengthy i'd rather them alot closer together so you don't have to scroll down as much. My flickr toolbar on the side of my profile helps me with this.
I hope that this blog will help me with my learning and sharing my ideas and developments with people that have a look. I want this blog to become my resources, so i can look back on ideas and opinions i previously had/have a learn from what went wrong and then grow from them and benefit from the things that went well, i could then put them into practise next time around.
The areas i was visiting were SOHO and Covent Garden, i started off my journey going through SOHO then made my way to Covent Garden passing through China Town along the way. taking pictures and drawing along the way i tried to focus on context, objects, their reasoning's and their placing in the area i.e. the connection/how they fitted. My first obeject.place was 'The Tea House' holding 70 different types of tea. This shop was situated on Neal Street, an off road from the main strip in Convent Garden. A great focus on British history i thought this was a great place to start my research. A mixture of the cobble pavements and this tea house it was a great feeling just to wonder.
I travelled into the Parade ground where entertainment is set up in the evenings and by day there are food markets, an aray of cultured foods on display for passers by. Amugst the hustle and bustle that this place holds i like the fact that its Origins i.e. buildings, cobble paved ground and things such as 'The Tea House' are a great shell for London, a prime example of a well executed area that's a very popular attraction for all.
This kind of mix is inviting for people that live in London and also tourists, my objects/images/places that i chose to focus on show the correlation between the area and what it has to offer. London is greatly mixed in all ways, it's nice to visit an area in which all these things connect so well together and compliment each other.
To the end of last year we visited Blythe House, the group was split into two, roughly around 40 in each. I've never visited an archive before i knew round about what to expect but i was quite excited to see what it was all about. The previous week on a Friday we'd had a lecture about the visit, there were set rules, no food or drink, once your in the room your not allowed out, bags are to be locked away in another room etc.
We were luckily enough to have Textile books especially set out for us to look at, we were talked through the possibility's of the archive, its history, examples of existing designers in the archive and how we benefit from such a place.
Overall the experience was great, i'd never visited that part of London before (Kensington Olympia) so getting there was a challenge in itself for the day, but well worth the effort i had a great time and learn alot. It was great to be touching all these books that dated back, all the sampling of laces, tweeds etc.
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