City in flux Initial ideas Night photography. time waits for no man. Weather. Road marking. Animals, foxes birds rats pets. Reclaimed by nature. Parkour. Rebuild. money. Abandoned places. Society. Traffic lights. Jobs. Transformation. Bricks. Clouds. Maps. People. Homes. Roads. Movement. Alteration. Mutate. Mobility. Transport. Exchange. Transition. Ebb + flow. Aging. Christchurch. Walking. People make a city but are so small with in it. Sounds of the city. Colours. Concrete jungle. Maturing. Developing. Growing. Structures. Reconstruct. Remake. Reconstitute. Restore. Recreate. Re-establish. Erode. Decompose. Decay. Corrode. Unrest. Instability. Turbulence. Precariousness. Abandoned city’s. Arial views. Mapping the growth. Expansion. Repeat. Replay. Cranes. Found items. Skips. Building sights. Metropolis
Research This is a selection of work from sleepy city a collection of photographs of the city that you would never see from high above the streets to far below them. The artists believes that by putting the effort in to photograph these almost deserted places he can capture the true nature of the city “As night descends we creep out to explore the city and her secrets.” I like these photographs with there strong use of contrast to show a beautiful yet decrepit side of the city focusing on night photography he manages to capture the whole
essence of the city with out focusing on the people with in. Traveling across the world he tries to capture one body of work using his unique style in different city’s he captures what is similar between them all
Audrey Anderson
i like this work as in a simplistic way it captures snapshot of peoples life in the city using a mixture of watercolours, collage and ink they have captured small details of peoples life’s that everyone can relate to I think this shows the community aspect of the city and the sense that a city is not a city with out people.
shopping center there metal crates are surounded by concrete making them stand out in the new city.
Christchurch
One example of rebirth of a city is Christchurch in new Zealand after being struck by an earthquake in February 2011 the country is beginning to rebuild its second largest city. There is much debate weather to rebuild the city as it was keeping the history or weather they should modernise the city, keeping it competitive with other places in the county. they began the build with the things central to the city clearing the roads creating a temporary shopping district out of shipping containers so that they economy could continue as best as possible despite this many people were still forced to find work else where. Another of the priorities was to build a church as money was low and the work force was busy on other building they did this by creating a card board church using thick cardboard tubes instead of metal and brick as many of the existing churches and community centres were destroyed this gave the community a focal point. Although the city is damaged they are finding less traditional building techniques to being life back to the city creating an unusual and unique vision.
city’s are constantly in a state of unrest as new buildings go up old ones come down , buildings are repurposed or restructured the question is always asked do we improve the city or keep it the same
i feel the uniqueness of a city is what makes it interesting draws me to visit to explore with things chancing so quickly in the world i fear the individuality of a city could be lost. how ever i belive the repourposing and restructure of the city is equily important to keep it living and poeple living with in it.
one example of a city the could not repurpose and continue to grow once one thing changed is Bodie, California. this gold mining town grew rapidly but once the gold rush was over it became a ghost town as the people with in it could no longer support them self ’s they left there lives behind and much of what they owned to travel to somewhere that could provided them with a better life . this is a grate example that the people are what makes a city live. Armand Fernandez Uses everyday objects found in the city to create beautiful sculptures and art work using ready made objects in his compositions it gives a unique insight into the city and peoples lives I like his simplistic style using repeating objects close together so you are able to see the small differences between these supposable uniform objects. Armand’s work focused on the mass produced aspects of society, choosing to use trash in much of his work , showing the effects of mass production and the waste created as time passes.
Nights of China, 1976 Theme : Accumulations of Real Objects Hard and Soft I like the way Armand uses hard and soft objects in combination distorting there original use and creating interesting compositions . his work reminds me of the waste of society because his sculpture looks as if it is at a waste dump. disregarded and left to decay.
Petits Dechets Bourgeois
primary research : photographing the city
For this research I decided to focus on waste and decay in the city in all its forms from old signs, to things humans disregard and signs of weathering and fading.
Primary research : Photographing the city For this research I went around the city to explore the different architecture and buildings form different eras. I was drawn towards building that with many windows I feel they gave a soul to the city quietly looking down on the streets as people continued with there lives , they are always there but very rarely noticed I decided to focus this shoot on the variety of windows in the city form simple to lavish. Once I began looking I was surprised how many windows there were something we take for granted in everyday life but with out them the world we see would be very different.
having looked into windows i then looked though opther inages i have take in diffeent citys and came accross these photographs of london even though its a diffrent city i get the same feeling from the windows in these images as i do from todays shoot.
More primary research photographs looking in to the city looking at society ; the people , the rules The city has many ways on controlling peoples behaviour and attitude whether thought written signs and rules or policing and other services . These influences are most obvious in city centres. With signs dictating are behaviour everywhere. These are just a few examples.
this is a collection of images showing form and shape in the city form tiles to seats everything in the city is designed to be beautiful and practical. I have focused on the beauty of these objects the symmetry and shape.
research : Tony Cragg Tony Cragg is observed for his use of many different materials I am interested in the work from his earlier career in particular his use of found objects organising them to create symmetry and order . I like how he takes obscure objects from our lives with little correlation to each other and combines them into geometric shapes creating almost a function to the pieces disregarded by others. He uses a intelligence about the found objects remodelling them in to quirky and interesting forms and images
Menschenmenge mixed media
Stack, 1975 Mixed media, 200 x 200 x 200 cm
primary research : photography shoot i love this image from my shoot i feel it shows the continuous re-development of the city the clean white against the scaffolding. It makes me wonder are they just rebuilding the building or altering the structure.
artist research : Satoshi Araki
Hyper-Detailed Miniature Dioramas of Street Scenes Satoshi Araki is a Japanese artist that creates miniature versions of decaying cityscapes . his work is incredibly detailed on such a small scale . focusing on mainly direlect builings he creates realistic scene down to the trash on the road and fading posters on the wall.
what makes a city ? Not every city is the same but they share the same features this allows us to create a recognisable city with unique form or on distant planets or realities Whether the city is realistic Or in a whole new world Or created within a human city using bits of familiar sights Pixar have managed to create a recognisable city with out just bricks and roads. i am beginning to understand lots od
things make up a city but not all of them make a city a city . many things like jobs and waste come along with a city but
Primary research : Leeds trip This week I headed to the closest city to me Leeds, the main aim of this trip was to created a selection of primary research by photographing the city. I also used this opportunity to view the local art gallery’s in search of inspiration. These are a collection on the images I too i got the train from Huddersfield to Leeds while waiting for the train noticed the tracks and thought about how if I did not have access to use this I would have no easy way to get to the city. Transport is deeply important to city bringing people in and out of the area keeping it flowing and progressing.
I
As it was a new area to me I needed to use signs and maps to find my way around and thought about the importance of clear signs in the city, this led on to me looking for any examples of letters and fonts in the city as everyone means something useful to someone if not me .
Another aim for my trip was to look at windows in the city. Something so simple but I feel is so important to the city . I was looking out for a variety of shapes and styles to try and collect a body of work focused on these simples objects
Images from other city’s I have been to around the world much bigger city then I am used to but still they have the same basic things , places of work , places to relax and people. Another thing iv noticed in all the city’s iv been to, there is always a green space. To contrast against the slick buildings and grey concrete they are usually also man built. I feel its important to keep nature in the city. It beings a level of calm to the busy streets and allows you a place to escape. New zealand : Christchurch
This image is a grate example of re birth and re growth of a city constantly changing and growing