London in Plaster

For my final project I created pages made out of plaster with materials incorporated into it. I did two stands holding four plaster pages on each one. All the pages explored different materials and its effects.

One of the stands contained four plaster pages which consisted of the all man-made materials page, the page with all natural materials, then the page with man-made and natural materials mixed all together and lastly the page with man-made and natural materials in the same page but not mixed, the materials are next to each other on the page. I did it this way because I wanted to show how the different materials react on its own and the effects it has when it is mixed together.

The other stand consisted of the following pages: the page with splattered acrylic paint, the page with wires and strings, then the page with the coffee powder and lastly the page with the holes, coffee and plastic. I did this one this way because these pages consists more on the texture and what happens to it in the long term. Some materials chemically reacted with the plaster in time for example the page with the paint, when the paint started to dry it started to peel off from the plaster the wire on the page getting rusty and the paint peeling off naturally.

The Alternative Limb Project

Sophie de Oliveira Barata

The Alternative Limb project created by Sophie de Oliveira Barat provides realistic prosthetic limbs that blend with the body. They also do alternative-style limbs and take a lot of client’s ideas in consideration.

Sophie has a first class honours degree from the University of Arts London. She studied special effects prosthetic for film and TV. The kind of skills needed to do this work is: sculpting, graphics, paint and technology. The materials used for the various limbs are metal, silicone, colours, lights, lasers, mirrors, wood, jewels, bionic components, plastic painting.

Sophie also collaborates with other artists and technical people to produce the limbs for example IT experts, metalwork and woodwork, for example the alternative limb wooden arm. Sophie begins to make the prosthesis by taking colour readings and photographs. If the prosthesis is in direct contact with the skin, (e.g. finger, toe, partial foot or hand) a test piece will be made so that the prosthetist can check the fitting. If they are not happy with this, Sophie will make modifications and repeat the process. When everyone’s happy with the final piece the limb would be created.

I think the Limb Project is a great work of art. I think it’s extremely amazing how realistic they end up looking and how cool the alternative limbs turn out. I love the fact that they take the client’s design decisions in consideration and that they are really focused on the clients happiness. If I was to have a prosthesis made I would like an alternative limb like the stereo leg or the gadget arm because I think it looks really cool and could come in handy.

Reference: visited on 23/11/2014.

http://www.thealternativelimbproject.com/#

Wilkinson Eyre Architects

Gateshead Millennium Bridge

“The Gateshead Millennium Bridge was created in 2002 and designed by the company Wilkinson Eyre and structural engineer Gifford” according to the Wilkinson Eyre website. The bridge was designed across the River Tyne. It could not be too low near the water because it would obstruct the boats from crossing the river so the bridge moves for the boats. So the architect designed a curve on the bridge allowing it to open, making way for the boats to pass. The bridge was designed in a very modern way. The bridge has two curves, one forming the deck and the other supporting it.

The opening movement of the bridge is an innovative rotational movement that resembles a slowly opening eyelid. The deck extends to 105m crossing distance around 120m, which is enough to provide the required clearance above the water allowing plenty of space for boats. The modern design of the bridge has become the main attraction of the neighbourhood, they said in a short clip interview to BBC 2: “It has brought a whole different look to the area”. The bridge looks great at both day and night, but especially at night when the lights are turned on making it look more eye-catching and vibrant than ever.

In my opinion I think this bridge was cleverly done. The design idea that the architect came up with was so great and fit the area so much. I think the look of the bridge is really modern which makes the area look a lot nicer. I really like the fact that the architect took a lot of the surroundings into consideration when building the bridge and its design. I really like the curve that the bridge has I think I will probably come up with a bridge idea that has a curve because I think it makes the look of the area look beautiful.

Useful websites: visited on 17/11/2014.

http://www.wilkinsoneyre.com/projects/gateshead-millennium-bridge.aspx?category=bridges

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00chl6n

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateshead_Millennium_Bridge

Sony Bravia Adverts

My chosen advert is the Sony Bravia advert from 2007 which took place in Manhattan, New York City. It was made with stop frame animation and foam latex rabbits to advertise the colour quality in Sony televisions.

It took 3 weeks to create the adveted the rabbit’s animation in London and the rehearsal was in Brooklyn, New York. The giant rabbit at the end was made of fort with 40 animators and 2.5tons of plasticine. They tesam and wood covered with paint.

This is my favourite advert because you can clearly see they put a lot of effort and time into it and also because it looks interesting. The advert is really creative and fun.

I really like this shot because it starts off with one rabbit that soon develops into a lot more rabbits. I like the fact that the rabbit is first in an isolated place and then moves to the city which is a busy place with a lot more movement.

I also really like this shot because it shows how the rabbits have multiplied and continue to multiply throughout the video. It also shows the different variety of play-doh rabbits and their different movement positions.

 I like this last shot because it shows all the little rabbits turned into the big rabbit. I like this because it was interesting to see the development of the little rabbits. Also because the way the rabbit stands out from everything in the city making it the main attraction there.

Ari Mahardhika

This image is by an artist called Ari Mahardhika. He creates photo montages with him in different poses using a self-timer to take the pictures. He then edits the photos into one.

The setting of this image is in the middle of the street with lots of buildings around it. The image is located in a busy workplace city. There are roughly thirteen figures interacting with each other. The little figures look as if they are working together to climb up the bigger figure, they are thinking together to come up with a solution.

The composition of the image is set in a way that all the figures are together in a group form, the focus of the image is in the big figure of the man. The camera is positioned at eye level to show how the figures are climbing, this is a good effect to show things in our eyes perspective. There is depth to the photograph this is because there is life in the background with people, buildings and vehicles. The lighting in the photograph looks like natural light, the artist used the light from the background to the whole collage. The background has shadows but the figures are clearly lit with no shadows. I think he might have used only one light for the figures and no artificial light for the background.

I think the message the photographer is trying to send is that in life we need people and friends to help each other out in climbing the highest mountain and getting to the top he showed this in the background using the city life. I don’t think this is a portrait, the photographer is trying to show different identities between people.

Kara walker

Kara Walker is a contemporary African-American artist born in Stockton, California in the USA in 1969. She is best known for her panoramic friezes of cut-paper silhouettes, using black figures against a white wall which mainly represents slavery and violence. Her art consists on themes such as race, gender, sexuality, violence and identity. She likes to explore these conflicted themes because she believes that they are still standing strong in the world.

Kara Walker’s father used to be an artist himself and she states this; “one of my earliest memories involves sitting on my dad’s lap in his studio in the garage of our house and watching him draw. I remember thinking: ‘I want to do that too,’ and I pretty much decided then and there at the age of 2 or 3 that I was an artist just like Dad”. There is no doubt that her father was the biggest influence on her art career and the reason she decided to draw and bring her ideas to life. But Kara Walker also became really interested in Andy Warhol’s Pop art in the 1960s and Robert Colescott who inserted cartoonish Dixie sharecroppers into his version of Vincent van Gogh’s Dutch peasant cottages.

Kara Walker first became known in 1994 with her mural ‘Gone’, presenting an art filled with sex and slavery and it was then an instant hit in the art world. She has done a lot of exhibitions all around the world and her work always attracts people of all gender and race with different views and opinions.

Kara Walker gets her ideas and inspiration from images from historical textbooks that show how African American slaves were depicted during Antebellum South. Other than her talent to draw and create such beautiful works of art she has also taken part in ochre gouaches, video animation, shadow puppets, and "magic-lantern" projections.

Kara Walker says this about her work ‘Gone’ in an interview to the website Art21: “Gone, a historical romance of civil war as it occurred between the dusky thighs of one young negress and her heart”. I really like the spooky mysterious atmosphere that Kara Walker created in this piece. The guy holding a sword on his back hand and the women almost hiding someone under her dress confuses people’s thoughts and makes them wonder. In my opinion I think Kara Walker was trying to show that everybody has secrets but at some point or another they will end up being unmasked/shown.

In my opinion Kara Walker’s work is really intriguing and it instantly catches my attention to discover what she was trying to represent with her piece. Her art is the kind of art that makes you stop and think about what she was trying to achieve by doing it. Some of her art is so bizarre and shocking that it becomes so interesting to look at and explore the feelings and emotions behind it. I believe her art is inspirational and challenging. I really like her art and how she keeps her audience guessing.

Useful websites: all visited on 30/09/14.

http://learn.walkerart.org/karawalker?n=Main.HomePage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara_Walker

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/arts/design/12walk.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Banksy - Exit Through the Gift Shop

This movie is about people that call themselves artists but do not take time to perfect their art and to discover their style, they only think about the money and the publicity that they are going to get. I thought the film was funny at some points and Thierry Guetta aka: ‘Mr Brainwash’ was a really funny guy, I thought the film in general was really interesting for street artists but also for artists in general, because it talks about how artists need to take time to discover who they are and their style of art and also states that people should be careful with the people they consider “artists”.

Although the movie was made by Banksy, the movie is not all about him but a guy called Thierry Guetta and how he failed to create a movie that he was making to show street art and street artists so Banksy took advantage of that and created a movie about Thierry himself.

In my opinion, I think the movie/film is a hoax from Banksy because it’s all too coincidental, it all fits too perfectly but I don’t think it really matters if it is legit or just a hoax because I believe the message Banksy is trying to deliver to artist/people that buy art work and people in general is really important and interesting. I believe that the message Banksy was trying to sell was that a lot of people consider themselves artists but all they really care about is if they will be known and how much publicity they are going to get. The title of the movie says it all “Exit Through the Gift Shop” meaning that ‘Mr. Brainwash’ was a lot more interested in the money than in street art, like him a lot of artists are more concerned with money than creating art and getting a message across.

I believe Thierry Guetta (Mr. Brainwash) is not a real street artist because his work is really repetitive and he copies a lot of other artist’s work, I believe that a true artist comes up with his own ideas and takes time to create his work/art. This movie totally changed my view on street art and street artists, it made me realise that not all street artists are genuine artists and that not all art is created with intelligence and time, actually a lot of gallery art is copied from other artists to sell.

I think it is possible to draw a line between street art and vandalism; I like to think that when the art is original, interesting and it sends a message to people it should be appreciated and considered to be ART but if the art is unoriginal or just people trying to mess with others peoples properties than it should be considered vandalism and some sort of action should be taken.

This movie is a great example of people/artists just wanting to commercialise art and it really does succeed in criticising the art world because it talks a lot about how anybody can become an ‘artist’ and sell their art for thousands because that’s all that a lot of people care about these days.

I personally love street art because I think it’s really interesting how artists like Banksy for example can send such a great message through art. I don’t think that street artists go too far because isn’t that whole point of street art: getting to the highest point, getting as far as they can get. That being said I’m not against street art, because the people own the streets so they decide what they want to see every day in the public spaces ‘our own spaces’, but I think that the people who can make art and get a message across are the ones who should be doing street art. I think street art is dangerous and exhilarating. Sometimes it’s good to experience the adrenaline of creating new art.