Usually, of course I'd rather be sleeping, but things to do and all that and I'm quite excited!
Today I am testing out projections. I've made my DVD of the Desks at Grays, I currently have no desk at home, so I'm actually testing this out on a number of different surfaces.. coffee tables, ironing board, kitchen counter... nothing is safe!
The main obstacle is finding a way to suspend the projector so that it hits the surface at the right angle. I'd prefer it if, no matter where people stand to view the piece, they would not cast a shadow, so it would have to be at a good enough height not to do so. I don't want Mr Projector to fall down and get hurt.. so this is a tricky one.
I also have to take into consideration where I would like the piece to be shown. I discussed with Andy about showing it in the most public place possible (within it's own habitat... the art school) and we came up with the Foyer. Everyone who comes through the school must enter through the Foyer, it simply cannot be avoided... I'm sure it can't be that difficult to get something put up here, if other folk were interested, we could even discuss having a small group show? To the best of my knowledge, Photographic and Electronic Media have never had the chance (or more rightly put.. taken the chance) to exhibit in this space.. which is ludicrous!
This post will be updated with photos and hopefully happy faces if all goes well throughout the day.
Over and Out.
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
Monday, 21 February 2011
HOLY COW.. THIS IS AMAZING!
Really digging this series called 'Disassembly' by Todd Mclellan. Taking a really surgical look at the way things fit together/are structured (or can be taken apart!). This must have been a painstaiking process but the end result is quite something.
CLICK HERE TO SEE SOME COOL SHIT..
fromyourdesks.com
Just found this website after googling John Baldessari!
Great little website!
Artists and other creative types are invited to photograph their desks, explain certain items that appear on their desks and explain a bit about what they do.
I like.. check it oot!
FROMYOURDESKS.COM
Great little website!
Artists and other creative types are invited to photograph their desks, explain certain items that appear on their desks and explain a bit about what they do.
I like.. check it oot!
FROMYOURDESKS.COM
Every Front Door and Garden on my Street
I noticed, walking down my street the other day, that nearly all of the houses are of the same format, and theres a hell of a lot of them too.
Of course I had noticed this before, but hadn't really thought anything of it. Walking down the road, although all of the houses have been built exactly the same, they all boast subtle differences, be it the mound of rubbish and empty beer cans littering the garden or the colour of the door (or lack of it!.. on my street this would probably happen..) Similar to 'Ever Desk in Grays' i thought i would transfer this idea to these houses.. and heres how it went.
The front door of your home is the first thing people see before they even meet you, this for some people, is the pride and joy of their home.. giving off a visual introduction of who they may be. This is interesting since most are broken down and in a state of disrepair (this is probably due to the fact that Torry is home to many of Aberdeen's junkies! Also that all of these front doors and gardens are shared and the responibility of their upkeep lands on everyones shoulders.)
In terms of structure and uniformity, i feel this series of photographs works more than the desk series. Although uniformity seems to break towards the end with each photograph subtley changing and showing differences to the last (this is with the introduction of steps leading up the door and a longer pathway.) Although each is different, one factor that was continuous throughout was where the photograph was taken from. Each was taken at the edge of the pavement, directly looking towards the door, aiming for (as much as possible) a completly centered image.
As with 'Every Desk in Grays', i would like to play with the idea of projecting each photograph on a loop onto a blank white door (the door in the photograph would be lined up so that it hits the physical door.. so possibly a lot of tweaking in photoshop..) But would also be interested to see each photograph framed and hung.
Of course I had noticed this before, but hadn't really thought anything of it. Walking down the road, although all of the houses have been built exactly the same, they all boast subtle differences, be it the mound of rubbish and empty beer cans littering the garden or the colour of the door (or lack of it!.. on my street this would probably happen..) Similar to 'Ever Desk in Grays' i thought i would transfer this idea to these houses.. and heres how it went.
In terms of structure and uniformity, i feel this series of photographs works more than the desk series. Although uniformity seems to break towards the end with each photograph subtley changing and showing differences to the last (this is with the introduction of steps leading up the door and a longer pathway.) Although each is different, one factor that was continuous throughout was where the photograph was taken from. Each was taken at the edge of the pavement, directly looking towards the door, aiming for (as much as possible) a completly centered image.
As with 'Every Desk in Grays', i would like to play with the idea of projecting each photograph on a loop onto a blank white door (the door in the photograph would be lined up so that it hits the physical door.. so possibly a lot of tweaking in photoshop..) But would also be interested to see each photograph framed and hung.
Friday, 18 February 2011
Migration
Yes, I have migrated all of my bloggy stuff from my previous blog address on Wordpress. That is why all of the previous posts are of the same date.. although it would be nice if I could work that fast.
Here is my Wordpress address..
http://workandinspiration.wordpress.com/
I did this since the majority of my class seem to be on Blogger, for the ease of adding comments and following each other.
It's a shame as I was just getting to grips with Wordpress and got it looking all pretty! Ach well, I'll just have to re-create the look.. somehow.
R.I.P WORDPRESS!
Or what do you think.. should I update each blog and keep them both?
Here is my Wordpress address..
http://workandinspiration.wordpress.com/
I did this since the majority of my class seem to be on Blogger, for the ease of adding comments and following each other.
It's a shame as I was just getting to grips with Wordpress and got it looking all pretty! Ach well, I'll just have to re-create the look.. somehow.
R.I.P WORDPRESS!
Or what do you think.. should I update each blog and keep them both?
Every Student Desk in Grays School of Art
Well almost, two people did not want to be included.. which is fine, and very interesting! It was great to see how different each desk was, especially the first year hall desks, which apart from one or two were completely empty. This is probably partly due to the fact that you have to share desks, i remember it being pretty cramped when I was in first year, also the desks are only temporary as everyone moves around every few weeks when they start a new brief. But I can’t help but think, being such a large classroom, some may not feel comfortable leaving their personal belongings out for others they might not know very well to see or even steal.
To be honest, if I had taken the photos at a decent time of day instead of night time, when most people have gone home, probably a few more people would have been pretty unhappy about me taking snaps of their desks. However, they weren’t there so I suppose what they don’t know won’t hurt them! I guess choosing to take the photos when i know most people won’t be there says a lot about my own personal boundaries, I did after all feel a little creepy going around doing this.. and didn’t want to cause any controversy.
You may have also noticed that these are digital photos, usually I’m pretty against the throwaway digital image, but Grays just got some awesome new Canon 550D’s and thought this was a good enough excuse to test ‘em out. I think I’m in love with this new camera, in fact if I was a camera, I’d probably marry it and have it’s beautiful camera babies…
So, now I have collected these photos, what am I going to do with them?
First of all, I was thinking of making a Blurb book of all of these images. Almost as a mock-yearbook.
I would also like to project a looped video of these images onto an empty desk, (the above video is just a quick little thing, I shall be doing another..). The looped video would probably be on a loop time of a few hours, each desk getting some good airtime of around 15 seconds and would be slowly crossfaded into one another to create a seamless edit. Being crossfaded would also add flow and show the similarities and differences of each desk, the main similarity being they are all taken from exactly the same angle. This is a very crude drawing of how I would like it to turn out..
Tune in is back!
In an attempt to get ‘Tune In’ up and running again, i’ve decided to take things into my own hands and hold a film screening at my house Wednesday 23rd February, things kick off at 6pm. Hopefully if the weather isn’t too horrible, this will be an open air event.. if the weather starts to go tits up then it’ll be moved indoors!
All are welcome!
Right now i’m thinking a few shorts to start off with:
Dog Altogether
I’m Here
The Black Tower (technically not a short, good all the same..)
And then for the biggie, I might put on ‘Kes’, a fantastic Ken Loach film. Either that or ‘Sweet Sixteen’, also by Ken Loach. These are subject to change as I've noticed they are all quite dark... and I don't want any tears on my hands!
We might even have a BBQ if I get organised enough..
All are welcome!
Right now i’m thinking a few shorts to start off with:
Dog Altogether
I’m Here
The Black Tower (technically not a short, good all the same..)
And then for the biggie, I might put on ‘Kes’, a fantastic Ken Loach film. Either that or ‘Sweet Sixteen’, also by Ken Loach. These are subject to change as I've noticed they are all quite dark... and I don't want any tears on my hands!
We might even have a BBQ if I get organised enough..
Justin Bieber slowed down 800%
Justin Bieber
You may be experiencing initial hate and anger when you read the first two words of this post. You may be screaming ‘WHY! OH GOD WHY!’ at your computer screen, you may want to hunt me down and burn me…
BUT!…listen, you will understand why I posted this.
Actually can’t beleive my ears, if only the little nerd sounded like this all the time..
You may be experiencing initial hate and anger when you read the first two words of this post. You may be screaming ‘WHY! OH GOD WHY!’ at your computer screen, you may want to hunt me down and burn me…
BUT!…listen, you will understand why I posted this.
Actually can’t beleive my ears, if only the little nerd sounded like this all the time..
Bruce Nauman is Awesome
Yes, I used the dreaded ‘A’ word, but there really is no other way to describe the way I feel about the work of Bruce Nauman. I love his use of repetiton, a tool used (repeated? huh huh huh…) in many of his video works. Please forgive me for the terrible quality of the following YouTube videos…
On a loop, just one sound ‘mmmm’. The way the man sounds the ‘mmmm’ changes in pitch and volume, both pitch and volume rise towards the end of the loop, this adds intensity. Watching and listening to it makes me feel as though the man may explode at any second, his spinning actions and increased emotion reminds me of the dread and slight fear of a pan on the brink of boiling over. It’s creshendo as it rumbles and spits, growing angrier and louder, and then calming down when we take the lid off. That is a terrible analogy, but you get the idea. Visually it is also very intense, the man, stuck in a never ending loop of spinning round is displayed on a projection which covers a large wall (I’ve seen it in person, It’s quite intimidating!). As is covers most of your view-space as you watch, you feel as though you are being pulled in, spinning around the room with the video, it can be quite nauseating… There are also televisions which show the same loop, although one has been flipped vertically.
Bruce Nauman – ‘Feed Me’
Another INTENSE video peice from the man himself. Again, sorry about the quality of this video.. but you get the idea. If something is reapeated as many times does it become routine/ritual? Could i apply this to my own studio work?.. we shall see.. Experiments to follow.
Another INTENSE video peice from the man himself. Again, sorry about the quality of this video.. but you get the idea. If something is reapeated as many times does it become routine/ritual? Could i apply this to my own studio work?.. we shall see.. Experiments to follow.
Also check out ‘Good Boy, Bad Boy’ if you can find a decent video, here’s a little about it here:
Turrell Brothers 'Borderland III'
Borderland III from John & Tom Turrell on Vimeo.
Very poignant short film portraying the life of a widower. This film captures the man’s distress and unease while he experiences life without his parter, finding it difficult to get back into a routine and finding himself spending days alone.
The monologue is very interesting, it gives the feel of a diary entry as he spills his innermost feelings to us. It is quite obvious he is not having a conversation with another as the monologue is voiced-over and seems to ramble out thoughts rather than answer questions.
This shows that his day-to-day routine has been disrupted, almost turned on its head, he wanders around his home aimlessly searching for the energy and the will to ‘do things’ to fill his day. The actions that we do see him doing, ie smoking, seem like he is crying out for help to find him, but just can’t gather the will to get out there and find it for himself. He fills his day with these monotonous exercises, the only interesting thing we see is him playing the violin, which presumably is not a new venture. He mentions introducing himself to the neighbors as something ‘to look forward to’, this shows how alone and detached the man has found himself, and how unhappy he is with being this way of being stuck in a non-routine without his partner.
Great film.
Check out ‘Turrell Brothers’ other stuff here…
http://www.turrellbrothers.com/
Borderland III from John & Tom Turrell on Vimeo.
Very poignant short film portraying the life of a widower. This film captures the man’s distress and unease while he experiences life without his parter, finding it difficult to get back into a routine and finding himself spending days alone.
The monologue is very interesting, it gives the feel of a diary entry as he spills his innermost feelings to us. It is quite obvious he is not having a conversation with another as the monologue is voiced-over and seems to ramble out thoughts rather than answer questions.
This shows that his day-to-day routine has been disrupted, almost turned on its head, he wanders around his home aimlessly searching for the energy and the will to ‘do things’ to fill his day. The actions that we do see him doing, ie smoking, seem like he is crying out for help to find him, but just can’t gather the will to get out there and find it for himself. He fills his day with these monotonous exercises, the only interesting thing we see is him playing the violin, which presumably is not a new venture. He mentions introducing himself to the neighbors as something ‘to look forward to’, this shows how alone and detached the man has found himself, and how unhappy he is with being this way of being stuck in a non-routine without his partner.
Great film.
Check out ‘Turrell Brothers’ other stuff here…
http://www.turrellbrothers.com/
Testing Stuff Out
Probably one of the most interesting of this set is the empty desk, with only a few coffee stains decorating the table. Who is this person? Are they so very private about their work that they make an effort to not leave anything on or personalise their desk? It’s quite interesting to see the different levels of personal boundaries here, some are completely happy to leave works out in public, others shy away/are strangely tidy!
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