Victoria and Albert Museum - Timeline. Patchwork assignment by Francesca Casini

Francesca Casini

Student ID: 200032125

Critical and Contextual studies: Patchwork assignment Victoria and Albert Museum - Timeline

In Europe posters were used to promote cultural and artistic events, representing a new form of communication, halfway between art and advertising¹.

Posters are now considered actual artworks and for many people this renewal was affected by the artist Henri Toulouse-Lautrec who was assigned to create a series of posters regarding the Moulin Rouge in 1891.

One of his works represents the dancer Louise Weber, one of the club’s greatest stars, also known as ’La Goulue’ (The Glutton). She is depicted here with her partner Valentin le Désossé (Valentin the Boneless) during a performance at the Moulin Rouge.

This representation is perhaps the most celebrated of all depictions of the famous French cabaret².

During 1890, the Belle Epoque period, started to appear exhibitions, magazines and also shops dedicated to this art.

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Francesca Casini

Student ID: 200032125

In 1914 the First World War brought a new role for posters: propaganda. One of the best known example of this kind of posters is “Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?”, which aim was to convince people to join the army. This was made in 1915 by Savile Lumley and it was conceived by the printer Arthur Gunn, who imagined himself as the father in the image.

In addiction to recruiting soldiers, these posters also had other purposes such as raising money and stimulating production.

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¹ Marina Ruberto, The poster's Belle époque (2017) <https://www.pixartprinting.co.uk/blog/posters-belle epoque/> [accessed 13 November 2020]. ² V&A's collections, Moulin Rouge - La Goulue (2020) <http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1034841/moulinrouge-la-goulue-poster-toulouse-lautrec-henri/> [accessed 13 November 2020].

Bibliography BBC, How did Hitler take power? (2020) <https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zbq3bdm> [accessed 13 November 2020] The Week, How the First World War began (2020) <https://www.theweek.co.uk/59782/how-did-the-firstworld-war-start> [accessed 13 November 2020].

BBC, How was propaganda used in World War One? (2020) <https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zqhyb9q/ articles/zhw3jhv> [accessed 13 November 2020].

Cath Pound, Toulouse-Lautrec: poster boy of the Paris elite (2018) <https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/ 20181123-toulouse-lautrec-poster-boy-of-the-paris-elite> [accessed 13 November 2020] V&A's collections, Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War? (2020) <http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/ O74621/daddy-what-did-you-do-poster-lumley-savile/> [accessed 12 November 2020].

Marina Ruberto, The poster's Belle époque (2017) <https://www.pixartprinting.co.uk/blog/posters-belleepoque/> [accessed 13 November 2020].

V&A's collections, Moulin Rouge - La Goulue (2020) <http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1034841/moulinrouge-la-goulue-poster-toulouse-lautrec-henri/> [accessed 13 November 2020].

Goldsmiths University of London, What was the 'Battle of Lewisham'? () <https://www.gold.ac.uk/history/. research/battle-of-lewisham/what-was-the-battle-of-lewisham/> [accessed 15 November 2020].

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Francesca Casini

Student ID: 200032125

Compare and Contrast

Then and Now

The Darkward Trail

Lorna Simpson

Nicole Eisenman

Date: 2016

Date: 2018

Dimension: 2438 × 2743 mm

Dimension: 3260 × 2670 mm

12 panels, ink and screen print on clay board Collection: Tate

Oil paint on canvas Collection: Tate

These two artworks are very different from a technical perspective, however very similar for the theme that they deal with. Both artists’ aims with their works are to denounce the actual society and to raise public awareness about these delicate issues.

The first artwork, “Then & now”, was realised by Lorna Simpson in 2016. It is a 12 panels, ink and screen print on clay board created by using two black and white found photographs and then worked by hand on the surface. It represents the Detroit Riot in 1967 which was characterised by police violence against Afro American residents.

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Francesca Casini

Student ID: 200032125

In contrast with the first one, the other artwork is a large painting on canvas. Here we can see three male characters in the desert that are facing to the left as in the middle of a journey. The title is “The Darkward Trail” and was painted by Nicole Eisenman in 2018.

The tallest figure is dressed with yellow bandages and he is holding a torch that seems to darken rather than illuminate.

We can find the same character in Dark Light 2017 in which Eisenman painted another male figure with a torch in his hand and wearing a red baseball cap¹ that was the symbol of Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016.

Contrary to the undernourished aspect of the first man the second character is an obese person riding a small donkey. He is placed far away in the background and seems to be heavier than the ass.

Lastly we can see a figure that is directing a drone and is a development of the painting Selfie 2014².

Simpson represents a past situation of 1967 as opposed to Eisenman painting that depicts Trump's America. Even if they are set in different periods they touch very current themes we are dealing with even today.

The purpose of Simpson is to denounce the police violence towards African Americans, while Eisenman criticises present day America and blames Trump for it.

Both artists’ works are known for being accusatory against America, particularly concerning themes such as politics, racism and social inequality. _________________________________ ¹ Mark Godfrey, “The Darkward Trail”, Nicole Eisenman, 2018 | Tate (2018) <https://www.tate.org.uk/art/ artworks/eisenman-the-darkward-trail-t15138> [accessed 29 October 2020]. ² Mark Godfrey, “The Darkward Trail”, Nicole Eisenman, 2018 | Tate (2018) <https://www.tate.org.uk/art/ artworks/eisenman-the-darkward-trail-t15138> [accessed 29 October 2020].

Bibliography Bygonely, 1967 Detroit Riots: Causes, Facts, And Photos From the 12th Street Riot That Disrupted The City (2020) <https://www.bygonely.com/detroit-riots-1967/> [accessed 29 October 2020].

Mark Godfrey, “The Darkward Trail”, Nicole Eisenman, 2018 | Tate (2018) <https://www.tate.org.uk/art/ artworks/eisenman-the-darkward-trail-t15138> [accessed 29 October 2020].

Tate, "Then & Now", Lorna Simpson, 2016 (2018) <https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/simpson-then-nowl03868> [accessed 29 October 2020].

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Francesca Casini

Student ID: 200032125

Learning Reflection

All the modules so far gave me the opportunity to learn and broaden my knowledge in different ways.

During Formats I learnt to do not overthink about a project but try to be creative and express myself whatever the result is. For this reason I was able to experiment a lot during this module.

I found all the activities of the module Project very interesting and very different between each other and it introduced me to a wide range of new materials, processes and techniques.

In addition we worked as a team and it gave me the opportunity to share ideas and compare my works with my peers.

Critical and Contextual studies, meanwhile, gave me improvements on my knowledge and writing skill. So far I learned how to describe the style, the materials used and the meaning of an artefact. Additionally I am now able to compare and contrast them in order to find similarities and differences.

Lastly I discovered many artworks and artists that I was not aware of and I amplified my knowledge about paintings, sculptures and monuments.

The feedback I received helped me understand the parts that need improvement in order to make them more suitable.

Moreover, the observations made to my peers during the classes gave me the possibility to compare my work to theirs in such a way to understand how to make it better.

Thanks to the advices of the tutors I was able not only to improve my finished work but also the research and thinking style.

After all I think that one of the things that I need to enhance is to respect the conditions and rules of the assignments this is due to the fact that sometimes the terms of the tasks do not allow me to do the job as I would like and during the activities I tend to ignore the ones that make my job more difficult.

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